


Small Joy

by MoonWalkingInYourEyes



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 半妖の夜叉姫 | Hanyou no Yashahime | Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Canon Compliant, F/M, No Plot/Plotless, Romance, everyday romance, iyashikei
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 35,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27208741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonWalkingInYourEyes/pseuds/MoonWalkingInYourEyes
Summary: A collection of drabbles and small plot bunnies focusing on the more mundane, everyday side of love. SesshomaruXRin.[Updated Tuesdays]
Relationships: Rin & Sesshoumaru (InuYasha), Rin/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Comments: 253
Kudos: 491





	1. Waiting

\---

_“In the deepest dark of night, a woman waits for her demon lover.”_

\---

Nighttime in the winter always felt a bit more than just what it was. Whether it was the ethereal way that seeing a world of pristine, glittering white made a body feel, or how the moon against the cold seemed to give everything a blue tint, there was a magical quality to a winter's night. Everything was so still, so quiet, so subdued.

The quiet of the night didn't bother Rin. If anything, she was more at ease in the silence that almost seemed to have a sound of its own. She gave a small shiver against the cool night air, pulling her blanket farther up her shoulders until it covered her nose as she leaned forward to look out the window up at the sky. Seeing nothing but the moon and her stars, she gave a small huff of disappointment and rested her chin against the wood sill. One of her hands snaked out of the blanket and idly scratched at a divet in the wood as she hummed a wordless tune under her breath and wondered where her husband was.

He wasn't _late_ —could he even really _be_ late if he didn't follow a schedule that wasn't his own?—but she had hoped to see him much earlier than this. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and sat up, resting her chin in her palm and glancing up at the sky again, just in case he had magically appeared in the last five seconds. She even looked around at the ground for good measure but still, she saw nothing. Her knee jogged up and down in a very unladylike way and she stifled a yawn that bubbled up.

 _He's fine_ , she assured the part of herself that was prone to thoughts of worry, _nothing could hurt him. He's just... taking his time._ With a final glance at the sky, she turned away from the window of the bedroom that she shared with her husband. With the blanket still draped over her shoulders like a brightly decorated cape, she wandered over to where she had laid out some papers earlier in the day. The half-open scrolls and loose pieces of paper were spread out in a corona of yellow-white that glowed in the candlelight as she approached, reaching over to snag a light source of her own so she could actually see what she was doing.

She shuffled to sit cross-legged on the floor and picked up the piece of paper she had deliberately abandoned because it had been so unbearably boring that she could not physically continue to read before it made her keel over. Now, however, in her weird silent suspended existence of waiting, she was turning to anything to pass the time. She cleared her throat and lifted the paper to squint at the words printed there. After reading and re-reading the same four words, she dropped the paper in her lap with a disinterested " _Hm"_ and a cursory look around.

"Well," Rin mumbled to herself as she rocked back onto the floor to sprawl there and look at the ceiling. Laying with her arms and legs out wide she could almost hear Master Jaken scolding her undignified behavior and the thought alone had a giggle escaping her. She tipped her head back to look behind her at the cozy blankets and pillows that called out to her invitingly. She rolled onto her stomach and deliberated, glancing towards the window a final time before giving a defeated sigh and dropping her forehead down against the floor with a dull _thud_. She was cold, she was tired, and she was feeling silly for trying to wait up for a demon.

She pressed her nose against the floor and blew a frustrated raspberry that made her feel better. She hadn't ever tried to do this before, to wait into the night for him to come home as a romantic gesture. Not that they didn't have romantic tendencies, it was just that they had been so used to living parallel to each other and taking the moments that they had together as they came. Not seeking them out so much as welcoming their appearance.

Forehead still pressed against the floor, Rin again found her thoughts drifting. Back when she had lived with Kaede, she had been visiting Kagome and she had caught the miko nodding off watching the door. When Rin had sincerely asked why Kagome didn't just go to bed if she was tired, she had been answered with a soft smile and shrug. "I like to wait for him." She had answered.

Rin was no stranger to waiting for her Lord. One could argue that the majority of her life had been spent waiting for him, she thought to herself with a small smile as memories of dark forests and wide-open fields from long ago sifted into her consciousness. However, the romance of waiting up for her husband in the wee hours of the night and being able to look at him and welcome him home before the two of them snuggled into their bed had left her sentimental heart thudding and her cheeks warm. Even now, she couldn't stop a small squeak at the thought of the small, special smile that he saved only for her, burying her face in her hands as a giddy flush rose. _Ah, well,_ she thought, sliding the blankets over her head and already mentally giving up on her romantic plan in favor of sleep, _I will try again another time._

"Rin."

The familiar baritone had her gasping and jerking herself up into a seated position, her heart soaring that he had made it home just in time. Or, she would have, had she not so firmly trapped herself in her blanket. What she really ended up doing was more of a quick jerk-up before falling back down onto her stomach. After a moment of thrashing, she managed to pop her head out and turn to smile at the doorway, blowing strands of her hair out of her face.

He stood there, face impassive and relaxed as he looked down at her laying in a mess on the floor. His head almost imperceptibly cocked to the side, his eyes looking around as if he was trying to solve the mystery laid out before him. He seemed to tower in the doorway, filling it completely with his presence, but he had always had the ability to do that. He was larger than life, he always had been. His eyes fell back to her face.

She grinned at him, grunting softly as she wormed her hand out of the blanket and pushed her hair out of her face. She wiggled her fingers at him happily. "Welcome home!" She chirped before she rolled over, kicking the blanket off of her and popping to her feet to shuffle over to him. His face tipped down as she came closer to him, his eyes following her. Careful of his armor, she slid her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest, a happy hum escaping her as his own hand slid up her back.

He smelled like the forest and the sky and that unnamable smell that came from a person who had been outside in the snow. His armor was still cold from his journey but she resolutely ignored it and enjoyed the solid feeling of holding him after not seeing him for a day or so. Gently— _oh_ , so gently—she could feel him rest his chin against the crown of her head and she felt his chest rise as he took a deep breath. It was soundless and had she not known him as well as she did, she wouldn't have even known that he was prone to sighs of contentment, but there it was.

She pulled back to look up at her Lord and he let her, gazing down into her upturned face. For the thousandth, and most certainly not the last, time she couldn't believe how much she loved him. How many hours had she devoted to watching him, memorizing the fair color of his skin, marveling at how his hair shone in the light, committed to her heart the gentle way his fingers brushed along her face, her neck, her arm…

"Rin," he said again, his voice pulling her out of her sappy reverie. She blinked a few times as he continued; "Why are you awake?" Giggling at his, honestly valid, question she slipped her hands from his back to his wrists and gently tugged him the rest of the way into their bedroom, reaching around him to slide their door shut with a _snap_. He patiently let her manhandle him as she began to untie his armor, waiting for her answer.

"I was waiting for you," she explained, pulling the tie loose and releasing his chest plate which he caught in his hand easily and placed to the side. He slanted his gaze over to her and she noticed the way his eyebrow cocked up, the question there plain. She came around to his front again and elevated herself up onto her tip-toes, fingers resting on his shoulder as she placed a small, slow kiss against his lips. She felt his back curve down to reciprocate as his hand came to gently rest against her cheek, thumb brushing slowly. As the kiss deepened, her mouth opening against his and her fingers going from gently resting on his shoulders to grasping at his kimono, she smiled mischievously. She giggled against his mouth as he lifted her off her feet and pressed her down into the blankets of their bed.

As his weight settled against her and the silence of the night enveloped and welcomed the sighs of the two lovers, Rin tipped her head up and thought to herself; _Oh, this was well worth the wait._

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Gawker

\---

_“People aren’t made for each other; they make themselves for each other.”_

\---

The sunlight filtered through the room, catching the dust floating in the air in its beams and warming the bodies within. There was a lazy apathy that filled the space and left the residents lulled and content. A bold enough appraisal would even dare to go as far as to label the couple as drowsy, though only at their own peril as the Lord within had never been _drowsy_ a day in his very, very long life.

Sesshomaru was relaxed, with his back against the doorway that led from the room out to a small courtyard that featured a garden and a pond. He gazed at the blue sky, watching the clouds drift past with very little attention paid to them at all. His arm was propped almost elegantly on top of the knee he had pulled up even as his other leg stretched out. He made for quite the striking sight and Rin found that she couldn't tear her eyes from him.

She had leaned forward, her upper body stacked in a neat line; elbow on the desk, chin on her palm, work completely abandoned. She had been trying to practice her calligraphy, having a small amount of success but very little ambition, when she had glanced over at him initially. Then she just...hadn't really looked away. He was like a cursed mirror to her bewitched eyes, and she was more than content to look her fill.

 _Perks of marriage_ , she thought to herself as a cat-like smile curled her mouth and she swiped her pinky over her lips, nibbling absentmindedly at her nail, feeling a warmth in her heart that had nothing to do with the actual temperature. Unaware of the distress that he was putting his poor, distracted wife through, he remained a statuesque picture of peace. A gentle breeze caught his hair and lifted a few strands smoothly before setting them back down respectfully exactly where they had been found. Rin leaned forward further, her other arm coming up to help support her chin as she dreamily watched him, surreptitiously checking for drool as she did so.

Almost as if he could feel her eyes on him, he turned to her. Caught red-handed, and not even the least bit embarrassed by it, her impish smile only widened. His eyebrows raised by mere millimeters, and he returned her gaze. Like a struck match, she lit up under his scrutiny. His gold eyes worked their way across her face, down her neck, lower… A small smile quirked the edges of his lips as his eyes slid leisurely back up to her flushed face.

Oh, positively _burning_ …

"Rin," his voice slipped across space between them, his tone soft but his words strong. She answered him with a wordless combination between a sigh and a hum, still dreamily resting her chin on her hands. His eyes darted down again for a moment before they met hers again. "You are leaning in your ink." He told her, his neutral tone being contradicted by twitching lips. Rin hummed again, so distracted by him that his words didn't even register with her for a moment and she carried on leaning in her ink and staring at her beloved. A beat of silence passed.

"Oh! Oh…" She gasped in dismay as she jerked back, pulling her ink-soaked sleeves across her pages of calligraphy and leaving drag marks along with her words. Rin grimaced, looking at the silk and how it had absorbed so much of the ink that the original pattern and colors were no longer even visible. She was sure even the cloth under it was stained. She made a sad tsking sound, lamenting the fine fabric she had ruined.

She began to shrug out of her poor, unfortunate kimono before freezing in place as she realized she would need to then walk through the halls of the Shiro in her underwear. Her mere existence already scandalized most of the inhabitants within and she couldn't see them being particularly forgiving of her if she were to strut around half-dressed. She looked around her, helplessly, as if the solution to her messy problem was going to manifest itself out of the floor in some form or another.

With the silence that was customary of him, Sesshomaru was suddenly kneeling in front of her. He reached a delicately clawed finger out to her and brushed it along her cheekbone. She looked up at him through her bangs, wanting to apologize but knowing he would tell her that it wasn't anything to be upset about.

"Sorry, Sesshomaru…" She mumbled anyway, fidgeting with the seams of her half-open kimono.

"It's of no consequence." He answered immediately, knowing the steps to this dance just as well as she did. He pulled his finger away from her face, examining the ink that he had rubbed off of her and now stained his knuckle.

Blushing, her own hand snapped up to her cheek, pulling it away to confirm that, yes, she indeed had ink smeared all over herself. _I am a menace_ , she thought sullenly, tsking as she imagined the long clean-up ahead of her. Sesshomaru stood gracefully, effortlessly, and her eyes followed his ascent. He reached down for her with both of his hands, and she accepted the help gratefully, heaving herself to her feet as the blood rushed back to her numb toes. His grip lingered as she got her footing, his hands warm and steady. She glanced again at the ink-stained sleeves, unable to stop herself.

"Rin," he said her name the way he used to when he would scold her, tone firm. She pursed her lips and looked up into his face. "It is of no consequence." He repeated, annunciating his words slowly. She knew that; he had been buying her fine cloth for years, but she still lamented the loss of something so beautiful especially because she was being careless. He pulled on her hands, tipping her off balance and into his warm body, making her giggle against her will.

"Careful," she cautioned as she pushed her palm against his chest to press herself back. "I'll stain your clothes, too." She turned and raised her arms in front of her, small drips of ink hitting the floor with subdued plinks as if to agree with her. She looked over her shoulder at him wryly, eyebrow raised. "Really, this is mostly your fault." She tossed out casually, the mischievous feeling from earlier returning as she delicately walked towards the door. A trail of black dots marked where she stepped and he was there to open the door for her before she even reached it.

"Hm?" He responded curiously, picking up on her suddenly playful tone and answering it with one of his customary wordless grunts that she had become an expert at deciphering. She smiled up at him as she passed through the door, pausing as he leaned down his face closer to hers.

"Hm." She answered, as suggestively as a hum could get, before she passed by him and dripped her way down the hall towards their bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was worth the read :) I'll be honest, I wrote this before it was revealed that Sesshomaru had forsaken his Lordly title so, uh... oops! But also, like, good on him. What a hunk.
> 
> I encourage you to leave a review with anything that you would like to see! I have a few stories already planned out, but if there's a request for a scenario or prompt that you would like me to write about, I am more than willing to give it my best shot :)


	3. Inventing Love

\---

_"Do all lovers feel like they're inventing something?"_

_-Celine Sciamma_

\---

"I don't see how anyone in the whole world—ever—could possibly feel more love than I do."

Rin and Sesshomaru were laying in their bed, facing each other and so close that their noses were practically touching. They spoke softly, just a notch above a whisper, and couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Rin was beyond comfortable, the kind of cozy that a person could only be when they were snuggled in bed while the weather was poor. The sound of raindrops slapping against the roof and distant rolls of thunder only added to the relaxed feeling that fogged her brain.

"Hm…" Sesshomaru answered her matter-of-fact announcement with a slow smile and the slide of his fingers across the exposed skin of her naked arm. Goosebumps rose on her flesh and she nodded stubbornly, feigning a serious expression as best as she could.

"Not one creature ever." She repeated, shivering as his claws gently dragged back down her arm. His eyes remained on her face, watching her with such an interesting warmth that she had never seen him bestow on another person. Usually, if _the_ Lord Sesshomaru was giving you his undivided attention, it was because he was about to kill you. Or you were his Esteemed Mother. Neither of which were...particularly good things.

The way he watched her was so sincere, like whatever silly comment she was about to say to fill the silence and make him smile was being committed to memory. And it was precious to her because she knew that he was always paying attention even when he wasn't looking but to _look_ at her was to give her the honor of himself, it was to say that she was so important to him in a way that no other being was.

Lightning lit up the dim room in a bright flash, followed by thunder that rumbled low. Sesshomaru lifted his head up from the pillow, looking over his shoulder at the weather outside. His hair was like a river of starlight, pooled out behind him and Rin marveled at how even after all of the, uh, the _strenuous activity_ they had just engaged in he still looked immaculate. She couldn't see herself, but she was sure that her hair was a ratty mess and she knew for a fact that there were some marks on her neck and chest from where he had laid his mouth on her.

She smiled and touched her neck where she knew one was for sure, fingers lingering as she looked down his proud profile. Though her bold declaration from earlier had been made as part of a long list of, quite frankly, hilarious statements, there was truth in it. Even now, in their home, in their bed, enjoying each other's company she felt like her heart would explode. How could anyone else possibly know this same feeling?

"Or, I suppose…" She began again, losing her stubbornly goofy tone that she had been using earlier while being silly with him as she came to a realization. He turned to look back down at her from where he was propped up on his forearm, blanket sliding down his torso. "Maybe it is that no one has ever loved in the same way we do." He cocked his head at her and waited for her to continue. Sitting up on her forearm as well, she leaned towards him excitedly. "Maybe it's not that every love is competing-because they couldn't possibly even be in the same race. No two loves are the same, right?"

Sesshomaru, who by this time was used to her intellectual outbursts, inclined his head and watched her as she thought her way through her discovery. "Because...because love isn't just saying 'I love this person', it's all of the things that you make together, the way your pieces fit. It's the habits you make together or the way special little things will remind you of a person. Love is the story, not just the word, and no two people could ever have the same story so there could never be a 'greatest'. Or...ah, I don't know." Blushing she flopped onto her back and pulled the blanket up to her nose.

His head appeared over her, looking down. She peered up at him from over the top of their comforter shyly. "I don't suppose two loves could be the same..." He answered her, though the way he mumbled he almost sounded like he was talking to himself, thoughts a thousand miles away.

"That's a good thing, though, I think," she whispered back at him, hand coming up to brush his bangs away from his forehead, thumb touching the crescent there. His reverie continued for a moment more before he gave a small nod and she assumed he was agreeing with her, though he didn't elaborate. Instead, he laid down again, pulling her closer to him. She giggled as she slid across the sheets, curling her legs and turning towards him to laugh into his chest as he slipped his arms around her waist and began kissing his way down her neck.

In the music of her laughter and the cacophony of the thunderstorm, two souls fit together like puzzle pieces sliding home.

* * *

**Short but sweet! I hope you enjoyed it :)**


	4. Sunlight and Flowers

\---

_“Big joy and small joy are the same. That’s it, that’s the great secret.”_

_-Laura Steven_

\---

Rin sang to herself softly, rocking her torso back and forth in a slow, rhythmic sway. Her mood was as warm and sunny as the day, unable to help the soft happy sighs that filled the air around her. She felt light as a feather, and she bet that if she jumped she would take to the skies just as she had seen Sesshomaru do countless times before.

She glanced to the side towards where he was standing, looking out into the surrounding trees. She smiled and reached up to tuck away a stray piece of her hair that had gotten caught by the breeze. They had been wandering—or she had been wandering and he had been walking. Just like when their rag-tag group traversed the wilderness, he had a destination of some kind in mind and she was just along for the company. They had passed by a small opening in the trees that had led to a field of wildflowers and Rin, who was never one to turn away such an obvious display of good fortune, had gasped and hurried forward to thread her fingers with Sesshomaru's.

He had been very sweet to follow her out here, though to be fair she didn't really give him the choice tugging and cajoling until he relented. She knew his secret, though, she thought to herself with a quiet snicker under her breath, and that was that she couldn't make him do anything he didn't want to.

She danced over to him, still humming brightly but now wanting to invite him to join her happiness. He turned to watch her approach, relaxed and unbothered, ethereal and glowing in the sun. She bounded up to him and grabbed his hands in hers, turning him into a dance partner, humming all the way. He stood impassively, patiently letting her twirl herself on his hands and sway to the song in her head, his own small smile keying her into the fact that he was enjoying this as much as she was.

"You are happy." He pointed out with raised eyebrows as she took his hands by his wrists and made him lightly and rhythmically clap his hands together. She giggled.

"I am happy," she agreed as she flipped his hands over and placed a kiss in each of his palms. "I am so, so happy, my Lord." Rin smiled up at him. "Thank you for stopping here with me." She told him, pretending for his sake that there was even a shadow of a doubt that he would stay with her.

"Hm." He answered, his eyes watching her movements as she continued to be silly with his hands. "There is no rush." He finished, his lips twitching at the corners. Pleased with herself, she held his hands in hers, pulling them close to her chest.

"If there's no rush," she started slowly as she placed a kiss on his knuckles. "Would you come sit with me?" Walking backward, she tugged him along with her towards a tree that was somewhere in between the forest and the field. They reclined against it, situating themselves in such a way that she could rest her head against his collarbone. He tucked her under his chin and slipped his arm over her lap to keep her close.

"Did something happen to make you so happy?" He asked her and she thought about it for a moment.

"No, not really." She answered, watching the grass and flowers sway in the breeze. "I'm just...happy. I am happy because I am safe and loved and that my esteemed, beloved husband will come to watch me dance in the flowers even when he might not always want to."

"This Sesshomaru doesn't do anything he doesn't want to." His tone was indignant at even the slight insinuation that he didn't want to watch his wife dance in the flowers.

"Yes, I know," she giggled, patting her hand on his chest placatingly. "Nothing big needs to happen for me to be happy with you, Sesshomaru." She assured him, "If our life together is only ever flowers, fields, and silly dances I would still be the happiest woman alive. Because I'm doing it with _you_."

Saying it out loud, she wondered if it sounded a little corny, but she really was being honest. Seeing the different kinds of love in her day from the older role models in her life, she realized that the deepest and most enduring kind is the kind of love that didn't need to have a reason to persist; it just happened in the small things around them. She loved him just as much right now, in this simple moment of easy touches, as she had on their wedding day. That was all.

He didn't answer her, mostly because she had realized a few years ago that while he was adept at threats of bodily harm, he was not necessarily one prone to dramatic proclamations of love and feelings. However, she felt his love in the way his fingers brushed along her skin and the way he squeezed her closer to him ever so slightly as if he was afraid that someone would come out of the sky to snatch her from him. Everything he did had a purpose and it was more than enough for Rin.

She sighed happily and snuggled into him further, lulled to sleep by the gentle drag of his fingers through her hair.

* * *

**Another small one, but I hope it was worth it :)**

**Thank you to Yaegiri for their prompt!**


	5. Recover

\---

_“You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.”_

_-Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles_

\---

"You...you're not scared?" The monstrous face of the demon seemed wrinkled in confusion as he looked down at Rin who was sitting on the floor. She returned his stare, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows at him. "Not even a little?" He sounded almost crestfallen, a big hand coming up to scratch at his head as he turned to look out the window.

"No, I'm not," Rin confirmed, sighing at the trouble of it all. The big demon grumbled and walked away while his smaller, quicker friend hid chortles behind his hand. They conferred quietly, the big one seeming frustrated as the little one shrugged. She glanced between the two of them, bound hands smoothing down the hem of her kimono as she wondered what their plan even was.

They had snatched her from her backyard when they had come looking for Sesshomaru and found that he wasn't around, instead settling for taking her and drawing him to them. Nothing new, but still not exactly something that Rin enjoyed. Though, it had been a very long time since she had been fully kidnapped. Usually, Sesshomaru was close enough that she was largely ignored by the attackers. _Just poor luck,_ she thought as she went about halfheartedly tidying her mussed appearance, trying to look busy enough to eavesdrop but not being close enough to be able to listen to their hushed argument.

"You," said the smaller of the two, and Rin jumped, surprised at being addressed. "When will he come?" She blinked at the demon, unsure what to say.

"Uh…" She shrugged and laced her fingers together, glancing between the two of them as they listened for her answer. "I...don't know." Their eyes glazed with doubt at that and she continued indignantly, "I'm not his keeper! He comes and goes as he pleases." The two of them sent sharp looks at the other, the bigger one crossing his arms across his chest. Biting her lip, she leaned forward a bit and added; "Though, you really should let me go." They both shot her derisive looks

"Don't be stupid," the smaller one told her dismissively, "You are the only thing that we have to give us an advantage. Why would we let you go?"

"Well, it's just that, uh…" She never knew how to phrase it without it sounding like she was bragging. Truth be told she _was_ bragging, just a little, but she also had very little to no interest in being involved in the fights for power that these lesser demons seemed intent on foisting upon Lord Sesshomaru. The two of them were still listening to her, waiting for her to finish her thought. "If he finds out you took me, well, it won't be much of a fight." She told them with full confidence, if not a little sheepish. There was a moment of silence.

"Uh-huh…" The little one looked at her with a pitying glance, almost like he was worried she had lost her poor mind. The big one snorted and continued looking out the door. Rin was dumbfounded, mouth hanging open at their blatant disbelief of her statement.

"I—" She sputtered, angry now, "I'm telling the truth!" The little one continued to watch her patronizingly. "Oh—! Fine, it's your head." She humphed and went to cross her arms, only to be stopped by the rope cutting into her skin, and turned away from the two of them. "So rude," she grumbled, feeling weirdly embarrassed. _What a silly thing to think I'm lying about,_ she mentally grumbled, hoping that Sesshomaru was close by so she wouldn't need to listen to these two for much longer.

Rin glanced towards the window that the big one was looking out of, hoping for a flash of white and seeing none. She twisted her hands in her lap, wondering if he even knew she wasn't at home yet. She hadn't been totally honest with her captors earlier; she had an inkling of when Sesshomaru would come. Since they had been married, he never left her alone for longer than three days; if he was going to do something that needed more time than that he _always_ took her with him. When she had been so gracelessly snatched and hogtied, he had only been gone for a day, which hopefully meant that by now he had returned and noticed her missing.

Or she could be here for another day.

Her eyes darted to the weapons hanging from the waist of the big demon and the long naginata that the little one leaned on. While she wasn't afraid, she also wasn't foolish. She was worried that she would overstay her usefulness in their eyes and that they would get sick of waiting any longer than they had been. She had no doubt in her mind that Sesshomaru would find her and defeat these two, but she just needed to stay alive for him to get here.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she saw the big one straighten up, looking intently out the window. The little one also perked up, turning towards his companion who nodded, looking excited. The little one grinned a Cheshire smile and turned to Rin. "Stay here," he told her as the two exited the small hut.

Rin immediately grabbed onto the rope that had tied her ankles together and tore at the knot with her nails. Outside, she could hear the two demons talking, tones mocking. A loud rip of laughter from the big one echoed. Rin muttered under her breath as she loosened the knot and pulled the rope off, stumbling a bit as she got to her feet and ran to the window. Her head popped out just in time to see the aftermath of the immediate and decisive carnage that Sesshomaru was so famous for.

He was still walking towards the cabin, she assumed his stride never stopped, and she recognized the way his hand was moving in a finishing flourish as well as the way the bodies were cut and sizzling as an indication that he hadn't even bothered drawing his sword on them.

He glanced over at her as she hung out of the window and she waved her bound hands. She rushed out, feeling relief buzz through her. They met a short distance outside of the door and she smiled up at him happily. He looked her over, and she noticed the smallest of wrinkles in between his eyebrows as he frowned.

He reached out with his pointer finger and snagged the rope that bound her wrists together, raising it so he could see. His eyes lit with a wave of anger that marred his face as he used his claw to cut it away. She winced as the rough rope dropped, letting out a grateful sigh of breath as the pressure cutting into her lightened. She rubbed where it had left bruises and his hands gently grasped at her arms and he looked down at the raw, red marks along her wrists.

"I'm okay," she assured him, recognizing his signs of distress and working to calm them. "I'm okay." She repeated, flipping her hands around to grab onto his forearms, ducking to get into his line of sight and smiling up at him. He nodded once, a slight dip of his chin before the two of them let their hands slide off of each other as they turned to leave. Rin glanced at the mutilated corpses even as Sesshomaru walked past like they didn't exist.

She hurried to catch up to him, walking next to him close enough that she could reach over with her pinky and gently hook his with hers. He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye and she sheepishly scratched her cheek. "Are you upset, my Lord?" She asked, knowing full well that he was probably furious or at the very least annoyed. She watched his frown as his eyes returned forward.

"No." He lied smoothly. She squinted at him but didn't pursue the topic. She knew he wasn't upset with her, but at the audacity of the two demons to take her. She couldn't say she blamed him. They walked in silence for a few paces, the forest swallowing them before he stopped. The sun filtered through the leaves above and left patterns on the ground and across his tall figure. He turned to face her and she looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking.

"This will not happen again." He told her, breaking the silence. She blinked up at him and frowned curiously. "I will ensure that you will not be left vulnerable." She smiled and shook her head, waving her hand to dispel his worries.

"Sesshomaru this is the first time this has happened in _years_." She reminded him. His gaze hardened, eyes becoming like flint.

"And it will not happen again." His voice was as sharp as his eyes, not quite snapping but she could hear the taut anger under it all. Like he couldn't help himself, she watched his gaze slip again to her sore wrist. She dropped her hand, hating that he felt responsible for what happened to her.

"You didn't do this," she whispered sternly, stepping closer to him. He didn't answer, just looked down at her. She felt his hand slip around her wrist and his thumb stroked along her skin, skimming her pulse. "Those two made their choices," she continued quietly. "And they died for it."

"Tch." He tsked, nose wrinkling like someone had shoved garbage in his face at the mention of the two demons.

"I am still here," her tone was unwavering, coaxing. She went up on her tiptoes as he seemed to bow down towards her. She knew that he had been worried, even if he wouldn't say it, and that if he had the luxury of privacy, she would be wrapped safely in his embrace. Alas, they were in the middle of a forest and who knew when Jaken would catch up with him. Against his thumb, her pulse raced.

"Nevertheless," he stopped, pulling back a sliver to look at her. "Jaken will stay with you while I am away." Rin giggled at the idea of her old babysitter returning to his post, not even the least bit sad for an excuse to have her friend around more often. Her free hand slid up the back of his neck as she worked to regain lost ground.

"As you say, my lord," she conceded and sealed their deal with a kiss.

* * *

**A bit longer, hopefully it's worth the read! Thank you!**


	6. Fruit and Dew

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_“I never shied away from love’s hugeness, but I had no idea that love could be as reliable as the sun. The daily rising of love.”_

_‒Jeanette Winterson_

_\---_

Rin loved waking up in the forest. There was something so refreshing about waking up and hearing the leaves, the birds, the animals. Smelling dirt and that fragrance that was very distinctly _morning_. With a smile on her face, eyes still closed, she stretched her arms over her head, squeaking out a yawn. Surrounding her, Sesshomaru's pelt tickled against her skin and she couldn't help but rub her tired face in it, opening her eyes to blearily look up at him sitting right next to her, leaning against the huge tree whose roots grew around them and shielded them from the world. His amber eyes were looking down at her, a small smile on his face as he watched her writhe about and stretch.

"'Morning!" She chirped through another yawn, rubbing her eye with the palm of her hand, sitting up. Her hair stood on end, an absolute mess that was an indication of exactly how deeply she had slept. With eyes as warm as the sun peeking through the canopy of trees, he reached over to her and gently snagged a wayward flip of her hair in between his fingers and righted it.

"You slept well." Which was a normal thing that normal people asked each other, but his sounded less like a question and more like an observation; _Yes, I know you slept well_. She smiled and wrinkled her nose playfully, putting her hands up to her hair and gathering it at the base of her neck, twisting it over her shoulder in an attempt to get it out of her face.

"Yes," she agreed sincerely, leaning forward, hand on his knee to support herself as she placed a gentle peck against his striped cheek. As she leaned back, her stomach grumbled and she winced before she remembered that she had gathered a bunch of raspberries the day before. With a happy gasp, she clambered out of Sesshomaru's fur and over to the small pack that she had begun to carry with her on their trips. Treasures cupped in her hands, she walked back over to their circle of warmth, settling herself back in.

She popped a berry in her mouth, smiling happily and humming to herself. She leaned into mokomoko-sama and looked at Sesshomaru, the two of them sitting so close that her knee bumped into his thigh, just enjoying the quiet morning. He was gazing into the forest, ever vigilant, even as he remained relaxed. She reached over and brushed her finger down his hand for no other reason than to touch him. He turned to her, and she smiled, waving. She threw another berry in her mouth and playfully gestured to her berry pile. "Want one?" She asked, expecting him to repeat what he had told her many years ago. Even if he wouldn't eat any, it still felt rude not to offer. "They're actually quite good."

"Hm." He answered and reached over, snagging one in between his claws, sliding it into his mouth. Unable to help herself, her brows shot up to her hairline, mouth half-open, her own raspberry frozen in front of her lips. _Well, that's new,_ she thought as she slipped the red berry the rest of the way into her mouth.

Over time, as he had grown more comfortable with the idea of sharing himself with another, she had been privy to answers to questions she had had for _years_. She had found out very quickly that he almost never slept, only needing to when he was very seriously injured, that he definitely had a sense of humor but it was just out of practice, and, now, she knew he _did_ eat food. Jaken once had told her that Lord Sesshomaru ate the essence of the demons he defeated, which she had thought sounded much less enjoyable than human food, but what did she know? He had never eaten anything in front of her in all of the years she had known him.

"I thought you didn't eat human food," her voice sounded puzzled even to her ears as she probed for information. He looked at her, face blank, giving nothing away.

"I don't," he said, slipping another berry past his lips. Rin pointed an accusing finger at his mouth, abandoning all pretense.

"You just did," she told him, in case he thought that the raspberries were little bugs or something. She saw the humor in his eyes, obviously finding some amusement in her confusion, but he did not offer her any explanation. She squinted at him, but scooted closer, the hand holding the berries coming over to rest on his knee so the two of them could reach them easily. "If I had known you liked raspberries I would have gotten more." She teased, feeling suddenly giddy that she got to enjoy the experience of sharing food with her husband.

Rin watched him, noticing an ever-so-slight red tint on his lips from the juice. If he hadn't been so pale, she doubted that she would ever have noticed, but he was made of moonlight and anything out of place was immediately obvious. She could have sighed, so enraptured with him. He looked over at her and must have noticed her expression because suddenly she had his undivided attention.

She wasn't sure why this happened sometimes. She would catch herself swept up in him and it was as if nothing existed except him, the sound fading away until it was just the dull thudding of her heart in her ears as the two of them fell into each other. She wished she knew how he had such a hold upon her but even if she knew the answer she wouldn't change it. Here, hidden by the trees and surrounded by roots, she looked at her husband and his lightly red-tinted mouth and she wanted to kiss him.

"Sesshomaru…" Her voice was a wisp on the wind, a question, as she leaned towards him. He leaned down towards her in turn, but he did not place his lips to hers as she wanted. Instead, he touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. She heard him take a deep breath in and felt his brow furrow against hers. With a smile, her fingers gently traced his jaw before she took the initiative and closed the gap between them.

Kissing him was always an experience. Mostly because it was her _only_ experience, so each one presented some new and interesting things to her. She loved being able to feel him; her hands on him, the way his lips pressed and pulled, the way his hands always found their way to her. She loved the way he seemed so much easier to understand for her, unable to hide his little nuances and subtle signs of the way he was feeling when they were this close. Even now, she could feel his heartbeat against her fingers resting lightly against his neck and she knew _‒_ she _knew_.

Around his lips, she smiled. He noticed and pulled back a fraction, his question plain. She giggled and gave him another lingering kiss murmuring against him; "You taste like raspberries."

* * *

**Short and fluffy. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Thank you to Rukis for the suggestion**


	7. From the Perspective of the Observer

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_“Maybe we should all just love one another, even if we don’t completely understand the things that people bear in their dark, strange hearts,”_

_—Jennifer Finney Boylan, Long Black Veil_

\---

Kagome Higurashi was used to having odd things happen to her. She felt, for her part, that she took most of the odd happenings in great stride, and with great patience, all things considered. After all, when life gives you lemons, marry the half-demon that tried to kill you! Did she want a quiet, peaceful, uneventful life? Well, yes. Sometimes. It depended on the day and the noise level of the events happening. Regardless, it was getting to the point where it was hard to legitimately stun her with things that were happening, and yet…

She had been walking back to her home, lost in thought, in the process of ducking into her doorway when she had seen his silver silhouette out of the corner of her eye. Freezing in place, Kagome did a double-take, eyes wide. Walking around the corner of her house was Sesshomaru. He turned his head to meet her gaze and she gave a quick swallow. _Why is he here?_ She asked herself, mentally grasping to answer her own question. Inuyasha was out of town, and it wasn't as if the two of them had family dinners anyway. Rin had left with him a few years ago and with her also left any reason for him to just _drop in_.

"S-Sesshomaru…?" She stuttered as he continued towards her. As he turned towards her more fully, she realized that he was carrying something–no, someone. _Rin_ , she gasped as she peered closer at where the young woman's head was lying cradled against Sesshomaru's pelt. She hadn't stirred, still turned towards the chest of the daiyoukai carrying her. "What happened?" Kagome asked, confused, looking up at her brother-in-law's face.

"Rin is sick." He answered, glancing down at the woman he carried. Kagome saw the way the hand he had curled under her legs twitched, noticed his frown. _Sick…?_ Kagome nodded and pulled the mat back, gesturing for him to come inside.

"Bring her in, I'll see if I can help." He followed her inside, ducking slightly to pass through the doorway. Kagome took a moment to appreciate the oddness of the situation. Sesshomaru had never come into her home; he had never set foot into _any_ of the huts in the village for that matter. He came to the village, Rin seemed to psychically know that he had arrived, she would run out to meet him, they would chat, he would give her a gift, and he would leave. Seeing him in this wooden hut, in this place where she and Inuyasha had made their whole life together, was jarring. He seemed huge, filling the place with his very being until she felt like there was no room left for her.

Like he knew she was staring holes into the back of his head, he turned and glared at her. Kagome jumped and quickly began to set up her bed, waving wordlessly towards it when she was finished. Sesshomaru knelt down and very, very gently laid Rin on the blankets. Kagome crouched down next to her friend and looked her over.

Rin looked...well, not good. Kagome wasn't a doctor by any stretch of the word, but she could see the fever on the flushed, sweaty face before her. Rin shuddered and Kagome could hear a wet rattling in her lungs when she breathed. Wincing in sympathy, Kagome reached a hand out and placed it against her forehead. _Burning..._ she gasped, pulling her hand away. _What do I do?_ Kagome gulped and tapped her finger nervously on her thigh, trying to remember what Jinenji and Kaede had told her. _He should have brought her to Kaede. Why did he bring her here?_

"How long has she been like this?" Kagome asked, partially to know how urgent the situation might be, but also to break the tense silence that had descended around them. She glanced over at Sesshomaru who was standing above the two, his gaze still locked on poor Rin.

"Not long." He answered shortly. Kagome looked back at Rin and chewed on the inside of her cheek as she thought. He continued speaking, sounding tense and angry, "She was sick and became worse. She fainted suddenly and could not be roused." Kagome watched his head tilt as he looked down at her, and she realized that what she was hearing was the undercurrent of worry in his voice.

"When she fainted," Kagome started, standing up to grab the water she kept in her home and a rag before returning over to the two. Sesshomaru was watching her every movement and it was a bit disconcerting, and though she felt like an ant under a magnifying glass she pushed on resolutely. "You brought her right here?"

"Yes." He snapped. She raised her hands in concession before placing the cold rag on Rin's head and wiping away the sweat, trying to cool the fever. Rin didn't even react, just laid there, and breathed hoarsely. Kagome bit her lip and glanced back up at Sesshomaru who looked very much like he wanted to strangle something.

"You guys will be here for a while," she told him, dabbing the cloth along Rin's face gently. "Please, um, make yourself comfortable." She finished awkwardly. Sesshomaru walked over to the wall next to Rin's head and sat down.

It was an anxious few hours. Kagome was doing her best and so far it was working, the fever seeming to go down enough for Rin to begin stirring. She opened her eyes and looked around, obviously confused. Kagome leaned over her and smiled. "Hi, Rin," she whispered, noticing the way Rin's eyes moved around, taking in her surroundings, frowning when she didn't recognize where she was. "You're going to be okay!" She kept her tone light, reassuring and Rin blinked at her, eyes foggy.

"Where…?" She began, voice hoarse and weak, turning her head before wincing and closing her eyes again, hand going to her head. "Ah, ow…" Kagome watched as tears leaked themselves from the corners of her eyes, and she felt so bad for her poor sick friend. _She's probably so miserable,_ She couldn't help the sound of sympathy she made as she watched Rin bring her other hand up to her face and press the heels of her palms against her eyes, legs shifting under the blankets like she wanted to curl up into a ball. Kagome turned away to dunk the cloth in the water again, hoping maybe the cold water would be some help, and when she turned back around Sesshomaru was kneeling over her, brushing her lank, sweat-soaked bangs out of her eyes. Rin looked up at him blearily, one of her hands weakly holding onto his wrist.

"Sleep." He told her, using a much softer tone of voice Kagome had _never_ heard from him before. Rin nodded and closed her eyes as his thumb brushed along her cheek, taking some of her tears with him. Feeling very acutely like she was observing something private, Kagome blushed, and looked back at the bucket, wringing out the cloth just to have the splashing of water add some sound to the environment. When she turned back around, he was back at his post against the wall. Kagome reached over and placed the fresh cloth against Rin's forehead.

"Um," she began and the weight of Sesshomaru's amber gaze fell onto her. "I'm going to Kaede's to get some medicine to help her fever and pain. I will be right back." She assured him, standing up and hustling out of her hut. _Huh..._ her brain mumbled to her as she remembered the way the two of them had looked moments ago.

Kagome wasn't stupid, nor was she unable to read the cues that were more than evident. She had begun to suspect the last year of Rin's stay in the village that there was something going on. Rin had grown to be a very beautiful young woman and she very clearly still had an affinity for the demon whom she had adored her whole life. Kagome could see it in the distant gazes and dreamy sighs that escaped her as she watched the sky. She read it plainly in the blushes that would appear at the mention of Sesshomaru, the lingering way she would handle her most recent gift from him. Kagome had assumed that it was one-sided, mostly because imagining her reluctant brother-in-law showing any level of emotion that would qualify as 'loving' was impossible for her brain to conjure, but now she couldn't help but wonder...

"Hey, Kagome!" Drawled a familiar voice, pulling her out of her puzzled reverie with a smile. She looked up a ways and saw Inuyasha and Miroku wandering towards her, waving. She raised her hand and waved back as Inuyasha came to a stop in front of her with a smile that quickly dropped from his face. "Whoa," His nose wrinkled and he frowned. "Why is Sesshomaru here?"

"Rin is sick," Kagome answered, just the act of saying the words out loud enough to galvanize her back into action. She walked into Kaede's hut, the old Miko looking at her with alarm. Kagome explained the situation to her, aware that Inuyasha, and probably Miroku, were standing right outside eavesdropping. Kaede gave over the herbs Kagome requested and then some, with extensive instructions on the proper use of them. She insisted that if Rin didn't get better to come and get her and Kagome nodded, knowing full well that Kaede would have made the walk herself if she wasn't feeling her age so much today.

"Is she really that bad?" Inuyasha asked her the moment that her head popped back out. Kagome slanted her eyes at him as the two walked back up towards their home. She knew that he also had a soft spot for Rin, the two of them having fallen into some kind of friendship during her stay in the village. Though, most of the people here loved her; it was hard not to.

"Kind of," Kagome explained to him, sheepishly. "If she was sick like this in my time, I wouldn't be worried. It's just that she has a bad fever and we really need to get that down." She glanced up at the hut and whispered, hoping to be quiet enough that the demon's keen ears wouldn't hear her. "I think Sesshomaru is really upset."

Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms. "Of course he is," he answered, his tone very matter of fact. "He wouldn't be here otherwise." They continued on, a contemplative silence falling around them like snow. They walked up to their door and Inuyasha plopped down onto the ground outside, waving her on when she hesitated before continuing in.

Sesshomaru was still reclined against the wall, head tilted forward and eyes closed. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought that he had fallen asleep, but she did know better and she knew that he was wide awake, probably listening to the labored, wheezing gasps that Rin was making. Now that she was a little more conscious, her wet rasps were accompanied by small, pathetic sounds of discomfort. Kagome could see the frown on his face, she saw the way his fist was balled up on his knee. His eyes snapped open and followed her as she approached.

"This will help," Kagome assured him, kneeling down next to Rin, who was still shivering. She produced the herbs that Kaede had given her and worked quickly to turn them into a drink. Holding the cup in her hand, she scooted closer wondering the best way to get the tea into Rin without choking her accidentally. She looked over at Sesshomaru who watched her and motioned him over. "Could you hold her up for me?" She asked. Sesshomaru came over and knelt behind Rin, lifting her head in that same very, very gentle way he had set her down. As he moved her, Rin winced and began to shift around, hand coming up to try and bat him away.

"Rin." He said, voice low, and she stopped fidgeting immediately, eyes opening a crack to peer up at him. He bent over her, long strands of his hair ghosting down to frame her face. "You need to drink this." He told her and she nodded, head bobbing in his hands. Rin made little, exhausted sounding grunts as she pushed herself up and leaned back into Sesshomaru's chest, head lolling against his clavicle, closing her eyes and clenching her lips tightly like just that small amount of movement had made her nauseous. Sesshomaru's eyes slid to Kagome's and she was so astounded at the picture they were making in front of her very eyes that she almost forgot what she was doing. Flustered, she reached forward with the cup and helped tip it up. Rin slurped it down and made a face.

"Yuck," she whispered and Kagome laughed, unable to help herself, relieved that Rin was coherent enough to have an opinion on her medicine. She heard a small, almost silent really, sigh come from Sesshomaru and a bit of the pressure that suffocated the room left.

"That should be a big help," Kagome assured him, doing her best to sound confident, sitting back and putting her hands on her hips with a nod. "Now she just needs to sleep it off and let the medicine bring her fever down." Sesshomaru looked away from her and back into Rin's face that was still tipped back against his chest. Kagome grabbed the almost-full water bucket and decided that maybe now would be a good time to go refill it.

Inuyasha looked up at her as she came out and Kagome gave him a smile and a thumbs-up. "She took her medicine! Now she just needs to start feeling better," Kagome told him and he nodded, a _phew_ slipping out of him as he stood to walk with her. "Sesshomaru…" she mumbled when they were far enough away from the house, and Inuyasha looked at her.

"What about him?" He snorted, holding the bucket full of water.

"I don't know," Kagome muttered thoughtfully, as they began their walk back. "He seems...kinder?" She was trying to put a name to the emotion she had seen in him, not sure if she even could. "Softer?"

"I doubt that," Inuyasha scoffed, readjusting his grip on the bucket as Kagome fell into step beside him. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks, or whatever."

"No, seriously!" She grasped for a way to describe what she had seen, gesturing her hands around as if to conjure the word out of the sky. "He just...urgh, I don't know!" She tapped her finger to her lips before giving up in frustration.

"Well, it _is_ Rin," Inuyasha interjected into the thoughtful silence around them. Kagome looked over at her husband and he looked at her before shrugging, one ear on his head swiveling back. "She's different."

When they got back to the house, Inuyasha handed her the bucket and sat back down outside. This time, Kagome did wait and give him a curious look. Inuyasha glanced at the door, before shaking his head, "Nah. Go without me." He told her and, in a look that mirrored his half-brother in a way neither of them would admit, he looked off into the distance and pretended not to pay attention. Kagome slipped into her home with a sigh, rolling her eyes at these two.

She looked up and saw that in her absence, Sesshomaru had taken the liberty of scooping Rin up into his lap. Similar to the way they had first shown up at her house, Rin was tucked against him, her head laying on the pelt that he wore, the tail of the long fur following his arm coiled around and under her knees as she rested in the crook of his bent leg. She was wrapped in the blanket and though her lungs still rattled, her painful, miserable whimpers had stopped. She looked quite cozy, nigh peaceful. Sesshomaru had his head leaned forward and when Kagome entered he opened his eyes and fixed her with a stare that was most unwelcoming.

"O-oh, uh," she stuttered, blushing. She hurried in and set down the water bucket, only splashing a little of it around. "There's some clean water. Uh...sorry." She said, leaving quickly. She stood outside the door to her own home, flustered and blinking in the sunlight. Inuyasha looked up at her, eyebrow cocked. Kagome, still flushed, gave a little laugh and said; "You're right, Rin is different."

* * *

**I hope that you enjoyed this story :)**

**I know it's a bit overplayed, but I love the "Person A is sick and Person B is worried" story so, so much and I hope you had just as much fun reading it as I did writing it! Because I am weak and cannot help myself, there's definitely going to be a few more stories in the same vein of cliches coming up soon but, uh, they'll be good I promise!**

**As always, let me know your thoughts and ideas. I use them to make myself better! Thank you so much!**


	8. Steady Hand

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_“I have a Postcard Mouth. All it ever says is: wish you were here.”_

‒ _Trista Mateer, Honeybee_

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Cause for celebration was something that most people needed very little of, especially in these uncertain times. Festivals were a semi-regular occurrence and one of Rin's most favorite things about living in a human village. The excitement in the air as the day wound down and everyone knew that soon it would be time to get together and eat and dance and just have fun with each other was such a fantastic feeling, almost electric. It was enough to make even the dourest person feel giddy.

Since she had left the village and returned back to living with her Lord, Rin had missed that buzzy excitement. So, one crisp fall day, she poked her head around the corner of their bedroom and very sweetly asked if there was any reason why she wouldn't be able to go back to Inuyasha's village for a festival that she knew was coming up. Sesshomaru, who had been looking out the window waiting for her to come to bed, turned to her and blinked. She had come the rest of the way into their room and clasped her hands under her chin, doing her best to replicate the expression she knew he had the hardest time saying no to.

"You can come with me," she told him, shuffling even closer to him. His lip twisted in a way that informed her that his idea of a fun time was _not_ at a party, human or otherwise, but he closed his eyes and his face relaxed again before his beautiful amber eyes fell back onto her eager, upturned gaze.

"You are free to do what you like," he reminded her and she squealed happily, clapping her hands together and wrapping herself around his midsection in a grateful hug.

"Thank you, thank you!" She went on her tiptoes and placed a trail of happy kisses along his collarbone and what she could reach of his neck as he stood stoically in her gleeful embrace. "You won't regret this! I promise!"

That feeling of elation followed her all across the country, back to the village that had been her home for a few years and where her friends awaited her. It had been present as she had said her hellos and help set up for the festival. It was present even now at the end of the night as Rin decided that it was time for her to turn in. The party was still in full swing, and she was sure that it would be up until the last drunk person wobbled their way off to bed, but she was ready to go. Her head buzzed pleasantly and her feet felt like rubber under her as she stumbled, just a bit, and she gripped Kagome's arm tighter. The two of them giggled like conspirators, their foreheads touching as they worked their way to the edge of town to find Sesshomaru as Inuyasha trailed behind them, probably worried they would fall over and crack their poor drunk skulls open.

"You know you are more than welcome to stay the night," Kagome whispered to her, her friend's words covering the slowly fading sounds of music as they wandered further away from the action. Rin sighed and shook her head, patting Kagome's arm.

"I don't want to leave him waiting," she explained, also in a whisper that felt louder than it should be. There wasn't a need to clarify who the "him" was, and Kagome nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before she remembered that she was walking and opened them back up again.

"Well," Kagome tsked, sounding a bit sad that she had to leave already. "Don't be a stranger, please. We miss you around here; even Inuyasha." She said, turning to look at the hanyou over her shoulder who responded with a loud _keh!_ Rin smiled, an odd melancholy feeling itching its way into her heart. Her poor addled brain was trying to come up with a good answer for Kagome when she saw her Lord standing just outside of the forest, looking up at the sky. Rin's thoughts died away and she couldn't help the romantic sigh that exploded out of her.

He was completely and totally beautiful and it was completely and totally unfair to poor Rin's heart. He had always been the object of great respect to her, but as the years had gone by she couldn't help but notice how that respect had grown and morphed into some uncontrollable beast that left her blushing under his scrutiny. Even now, after being married for a short time, she still couldn't believe her luck. She was convinced that she would wake up one day, still in the forest, her Lord back to being an aloof and distant icon of respect, untouchable as ice. But he wasn't; he was hers and he was as warm and kind as any of the stars above.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin sang out happily, waving. He turned to look towards them, though she was absolutely sure that he had heard them coming a mile away for the two of them were moving with all the stealth and grace of cattle. She let go of Kagome's hand with a smile and a jaunty pat, hurrying forward to meet him, "I'm okay now! Thank you for your help!"

She made it to him in a wobbly line, stumbling on her feet just before she reached him and righting herself with a barely suppressed giggle. He looked down at her, expression unreadable, as she did her best impression of a very serious, very sober person. Their staring match continued and she hiccupped, fingers covering her mouth delicately.

"Rin," he started, and she wondered if it was just because her brain was moving a little slower, but it almost sounded as if he was at a loss for words. "We are leaving." Is what he finally settled on, turning from her and the familiarity of the words and his actions had a titter sneaking out of her traitorous mouth. He cast a glance at her over her shoulder and she wiped the smile from her face and began to follow him.

They made it a whole six feet before she stumbled the first time.

She let out a mumbled _whoops_ and delicately tipped over into a tree, slumping into it and placing her hand against the trunk. He stopped and waited for her to right herself, which she did quickly, still doing her best to convince herself that she was perfectly sober. Then, another three feet in, she tripped over herself and toppled onto her hands and knees. She winced and sat back on her heels, looking at her now dirty hands as they stung. She glanced up at Sesshomaru and saw that he had not only stopped but he had turned to look at her sitting on the ground. She balled her hands up and hid them behind her back, embarrassed now. They stared at each other.

"I'm fine!" She stuttered through her blush as he continued to fix her with a bland stare. He looked to the sky for a moment before approaching, in what she assumed was a quick moment of soul searching for patience. Rin craned her head back to peer up at him as he towered over her and she was so busy looking at his face that it took her a moment to notice his outstretched hand. Even once she saw it, her brain still didn't seem to understand what it was for and she just looked at it with a puzzled expression.

 _He really has very beautiful hands,_ she thought to herself as she studied the magenta stripes just barely peeking from under his sleeve, the delicate way his long fingers reached for her, the impossibly sharp tips of his claws. What spelled certain death for all others only held kindness for her. She reached out as if in a trance, her trembling fingers ghosting against his palm gently. For all his boasts of only carrying a weapon, his hand was warm and sturdy. If she was in an imaginative mood, she could almost feel him brushing them along her face, feel the strength of his grip as he pulled her to him—

"Rin." His voice floated through her and she jolted, hand jumping out to grab onto his guiltily. His fingers wrapped themselves around her hand and she let him help support her on her way back to standing. When she finally made it to her feet, swaying as she found her balance, she felt herself tottering closer to him. To stop herself from fully falling into his body, her free hand reached out and pressed itself against his armored chest.

Looking at her pale hand against his dark armor, she again felt that dissonance of thought where it all felt very dreamlike to her, though in this moment it was more likely all the saké than anything. She caught him looking at her hand where it laid spread out against him and she wondered if he was angry with her before his gaze flashed up to meet hers and she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. _He is...very close to me,_ was the only thought that echoed in her very sluggish brain and she couldn't help the gasp that puffed out of her mouth. She felt as if she couldn't escape his gravity, like she was being pulled into something. _It's too much._

Rin cleared her throat and took a step back, suddenly self-conscious of everything about herself, from how sweaty she probably was from the dancing, to how badly she must smell because of it. His hand twitched against hers, fingers tightening so slightly that she almost didn't notice, before it fell away altogether. He turned towards where they had been walking but didn't leave her, instead he stood waiting patiently. She blinked at him a bit before she nodded and they took off at a much slower pace.

She looked up at his profile, wondering what he was thinking. She hoped he wasn't annoyed with her. After all, she had asked him to put whatever plans he had on hold for her and once he was ready to get going again she was in such an irresponsible state that they were having a hard time even getting back to Jaken and A-Un. Surreptitiously, she reached out and snagged his long fingers with her own to help steady herself. She saw him glance down at her and she gave up on being sneaky, too tired and dizzy to pretend anymore, coming closer to him and threading her fingers with his. When his hand closed around hers she smiled freely, leaned over, and placed her head against his arm, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Thank you for letting me come out tonight, my Lord," she murmured, eyes still closed as her cool hand pressed itself against her warm cheeks.

"Hm." He answered, and she assumed that would be the end of it. "Did you enjoy yourself?" He asked, surprising her. She opened her eyes a crack, standing up straight again to look at him as he, almost stubbornly, stared ahead of them. Thinking back on the night and all of the fun she had had with her friends, a big grin split itself across her face and she nodded enthusiastically.

"I very much enjoyed myself!" She assured him, tipping her head back to look at the stars with a content sigh. "It was so much fun," she murmured, half to herself, half to him. She wrapped herself around the arm of his she had in her grasp, smiling foolishly and wishing she had enough words to really express how happy he had made her. "Thank you, really. I'm sure this was a burden on you, but I really, really appreciate it." Caught up in the feeling of his silk against her cheek, she rubbed her face against his bicep like a cat.

There was a moment of silence and she assumed that he wasn't going to say anything. With a sigh, she stopped hugging his arm and went back to holding his hand, too nervous to try and walk on her own. She rubbed at her tired eyes with her hand and couldn't wait until she had a chance to lay down, already imagining cuddling up with him and drifting off to sleep with no small amount of wistfulness.

"You are not a burden," Rin turned to look back at him as he continued to stare into the darkness before them. He glanced over at her for a moment but when his eyes met hers they darted forward again. She waited to see if he would elaborate but he didn't. She smiled, tucking some of her hair behind her ear and feeling very touched by his sweet words. He was not one to tell her much of the things he was feeling, and she had learned to just accept that and read between the lines, but to hear him say something like that out loud was so nice.

"Thank you, my Lord." She whispered to the side of his face. She rubbed her thumb against his hand kindly and she felt his hand tighten a bit against hers. Silence reigned as she woozily followed his confident strides back to whatever campsite Jaken had set up. It had been a truly magical night and she was beyond happy, yet she couldn't help the one, final thought that filled her head, and slipped out of her mouth; "I just wish you had been there…"

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**I hope you enjoyed this little story! Thank you for reading!**


	9. A Kingdom of Three

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_“Even the biggest miracles were made from the smallest moments.”_

_—Darshana Suresh, Howling at the Moon_

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How many different mysteries existed in the world? Rin had a fair bet that they numbered at least the same as the stars above, and she had the great privilege of knowing none of them. Life was something so very precious and, unfortunately, short-lived for her that she was very confident that she would never really know any of them. For her, it was more important that she focused her energy and time on the people around her, on the being she had very happily passed her heart onto, and now their expanding family.

Rin was propped up by a handful of pillows behind her back and under her hips, doing her best to remember what it was like to be comfortable. Jaken, bless his dear, earnest heart, had brought them all to her when she had requested a little extra cushion. Even now, as a vision of royalty sat upon her extravagant throne of feathers, she could hear Jaken in the hall outside of her door grunting with effort as he continued to dote on her by fetching a blanket she hadn't asked for. Unable to ignore the silliness of the situation, Rin smiled and dropped her head back with a delicate puff. Her hands, empty of anything, drifted absentmindedly to rest on her growing stomach.

She wondered if she should get up to help him, lifting her head back up and trying to decide if she could get to her feet and over to the door fast enough to make it worth the scolding she would get. Just as she had decided that it was worth the risk when the door slid open and Jaken flopped onto the floor face-first. "Oh, Jaken," She winced, sitting up. He rolled over and onto his feet again, sweating and out of breath, but wearing a proud expression as he surveyed the huge down blanket that she normally only used in the wintertime. Rin eyed it nervously, imagining how sweaty she would be if she were to use it but not having the heart to tell Jaken she didn't need it, especially after he went through all of the trouble of bringing it to her.

"There," he huffed, grabbing it and pulling it over to her. "There, now you will be comfortable!" Doing his best, he tried to throw it over her, only managing to get a corner over her legs. She stifled a laugh.

"Thank you, Master Jaken." She intoned, taking pity on her poor friend and sitting up to grab ahold of the blanket. She winced as she realized her reach was limited by her much larger stomach and the tips of her fingers scratched at the blanket. It was her turn to make exasperated grunts, holding her breath, and Jaken hurried forward.

"Rin! Be careful." His three-fingered hand appeared next to hers and tugged the blanket a bit further up her legs. She laid back, breathing again as the pressure was released, blushing at herself. She was still not really used to not being able to move as she had her whole life, and truth be told she was in a bit of denial about it. She was not used to relying on others to help her with the simple things and she was self-conscious that suddenly something as normal as bending over to pick up something she had dropped became an ordeal. It didn't help that Jaken, and in some ways, Sesshomaru as well, seemed afraid she would burst into flames and disintegrate at a moment's notice if she so much as moved too fast.

"I don't think I'm in any danger, Master Jaken." She dryly remarked, eyeing the cozy nest he had created around her. Jaken made an exasperated sound and crossed his arms.

"Of course you are not. I, Jaken, would never let danger befall you!" He boasted, his slightly sweaty face speaking to his unspoken adage; _Lest Lord Sesshomaru spear me through and roast me on a spit._ He cleared his throat and came over to sit on the floor next to her, hands in his sleeves. She laid her head back and looked at the ceiling, her fingers absentmindedly drawing patterns across her round belly as a comfortable quiet came over the two of them. She _wanted_ to go for a walk, but poor Jaken was already so nervous about the two of them being alone that she was afraid that if she asked, he would die of a heart attack.

"Thank you, Master Jaken," she told him, smiling kindly at him. He harrumphed but she knew that he wasn't really bothered, no matter what airs he put on. Even though it was only the three of them, not counting A-Un, who knew about her pregnancy, Jaken was still the most excited aside from Sesshomaru himself. She would never forget the real, honest tears that he had shed when she had told him, croaking about how glorious the child would be. She had no doubt in her mind that Jaken would be just as watchful of any children of hers as he had been of her, and she really truly adored him for that. Even if it was partially motivated by threats of death. "You know," she began tentatively, pushing down the pillow on the side of her head so she could see Jaken more fully. "You really don't need to do all of this."

He opened his bulbous eyes and fixed her with the most appalled look he had ever given her, quite a feat in and of itself. "Don't be foolish," he shook his head like he was disappointed in her. "Lord Sesshomaru has asked that I make sure you are safe while he is away, and I will remain vigilant." A pillow behind her fell down and bonked into the back of her head.

"Yes, I know you will Master Jaken," she sighed as she readjusted the pillow.

"If I can do my part to lessen the worries weighing on Lord Sesshomaru, I am more than happy to do so," Jaken continued on as if she hadn't spoken, lost in his speech, a righteous tear glistening in his noble eye. "It is an honor that could only be bestowed upon me, his most loyal follower."

"Hmm…" Rin laid back on her back, looking at the ceiling, a thought nagging in her head. "Master Jaken," she continued, voice absentminded, fingers fidgeting from their perch on her belly button, "Is he really that worried?" Jaken stopped talking abruptly and she knew that he had accidentally let something slip that she wasn't supposed to know about. Which meant it was true. "Please don't lie to me," she murmured, eager to get insight on her husband from the one who had known him the longest.

"L-Lord Sesshomaru is a creature of great importance," Jaken amended nervously. "There are many things that he must keep his eyes on and so it's only natural that he would feel _some_ worries—"

"No, that's not what I mean," Rin interrupted, again popping her nose over the top of the pillow to peer at the sweaty toad youkai. There was a moment of hesitation before Jaken let out a sigh that only a small creature with the weight of the world on his shoulders could sigh.

"Rin, of course he is worried." In a moment of rare sincerity, he scratched the side of his face with a claw and side-eyed her. "You are human, and humans are weak and fragile and quick to die even when they aren't so rotund—"

"Oh, hey…"

"And Lord Sesshomaru has many enemies. While you are in good hands with me," he puffed his chest out again, "Lord Sesshomaru feels better when it is _he_ who is watching you."

"I see…" Rin nibbled on her lip, not sure how to feel about this news and a little embarrassed that she hadn't noticed. Now that Jaken had spelled it out, it felt rather obvious, but Sesshomaru always seemed so confident in everything he did. _Worried_ isn't something that she would have labeled him with. Truth be told, she had thought that everyone was so afraid of him that they wouldn't dare come anywhere near where he lived. However, now that Jaken had said something she realized now that he _had_ been worried.

Since she had broken the news to him of her pregnancy, which was a very tense and nerve-wracking conversation on her part to begin with though it ended better than she could have ever imagined, he had been a bit different. His presence around her was nearly constant, only giving her privacy when she asked for it. Not that she had minded, and it had been nice to have him around. Thinking back, she realized that not only had she not been alone but she hadn't been without him in _months_. This was the first instance of him going on one of his trips away from the house, and he had been so reluctant to leave her that she had been the one to remind him about it.

"I can't believe I missed it." She lamented under her breath, crestfallen that she hadn't caught on faster as she went through all of her memories and checked them off in hindsight.

"He wouldn't want you to know," Jaken informed her and she knew that he was right.

The door slid open quickly and the two of them jumped, Jaken guiltily insisting that he had done nothing wrong, while Rin placed her hand over her heart as she breathed shakily and smiled at the demon in the doorway. Sesshomaru was fixing Jaken with quite the stare and she recognized it as the glare that he used when Jaken's insightful predictions hit a little too close to home. Jaken, for his part, was suddenly very interested in the patterns of the wood on the floor. A hard jab against her stomach had Rin wincing and pressing her hand into the same spot, gently pushing on the little one inside to get them to roll over and stop hurting her. Though she tried to be discreet, Sesshomaru noticed her painful flinch and suddenly she had his full attention as he came the rest of the way into the room. Jaken sneakily made his exit.

He eyed the veritable pillow fort that surrounded her as he approached, eyebrow raised. Rin laughed and shook her head as he knelt to the ground beside her. "Jaken wanted to make sure that I was comfortable," she explained, moving some of the pillows out of the way so that her husband could take his spot next to her. He inclined his head, looking her over, eyes dropping down to where she still palpated her stomach. Her free hand came over and gently brushed against his shoulder to get his attention back and he kindly gave it to her. "I'm okay," she assured him, pushing herself up into something that was a little more upright. "The baby just jumped around when I got startled and it hurt a bit, is all."

Apparent crisis averted, he nodded at her and pulled off his armor, laying the different pieces of it along with his swords to the side of the bed before he pulled her over to him. She was more than happy replacing her pillow nest with his arms and chest, helping him adjust the two of them to tuck her head under his chin. She smiled and gratefully let him accept this very important task of keeping her comfortable. He moved her very carefully and she couldn't help but laugh at the situation, wondering what they looked like to the outside observer as this big, fierce demon held her like glass. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and let her giggles fly, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"I missed you," she told him and she felt him brush his hand along her thigh, pulling her closer to him. He didn't answer her, but he was touching her as if he hadn't seen her in months when he had only been gone for half of a day. "How was your trip?" She asked, going through the motions.

"It was informative." He answered in his vague way.

"Ooh, informative," she teased, "Sounds like it was a trip well worth your time, then." Against her hair, she felt him breathe a soft laugh and so she continued, "Since you have left, I have created a powerful and far-reaching kingdom of blankets and other soft comfortable things. So my day was just as eventful. Probably even a little more." She had a fake haughty tone, shrugging nonchalantly before giggling at her own hilarious antics and dropping her head back onto him. He turned his face into her and placed his forehead against hers, the two of them resting that way for a moment.

"Would you permit this Sesshomaru to accompany you in your kingdom?" He asked in a rare display of humor.

"Of course," she responded, resituating herself so that the two of them sat more naturally before they fell into a night of easy conversation and easy touches.

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**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**I know there is very little Sesshomaru in this chapter, but Jaken is the greek chorus to Sesshomaru's silence so I needed him to do all of the mushy talking for me haha**

**Thank you for reading!**


	10. Vigil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, there! Just popping in at the beginning of the chapter for a very small content warning: There is Blood Mention in this chapter, as well as a very loose and vague description of wounds. I do not go too in-depth, because I am personally grossed out by gore, but if it's something that is upsetting to you please be aware!
> 
> That being said, enjoy yet another Hurt/Comfort story 😊

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_“Oh, and you in all your vibrant youth. How could anything bad ever happen to you?_

_You make a fool of death with your beauty, and for a moment,_

_I forget to worry.”_

_—Florence Welch, Hunger_

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In this short time of marriage that Rin had been able to enjoy with her husband, there were some times when she wondered if everything was going _too_ perfectly. Perhaps it was her human nature, perhaps it was the consequence of living a life filled with such tragedy, but there were moments when she would be sitting in her happiness and get a weird strangled feeling. That feeling that good things can't possibly last because they hadn't in the past or that she didn't deserve them. Always, she had reminded herself that she was worried about nothing, and that had been enough, until one day he came home covered in blood.

Rin had been outside enjoying the calm, warm air of the day. She was resting in the grass, head tilted towards the sun, arms extended out behind her to keep her propped up. Jaken had been nearby, but he had gotten bored some time ago and had wandered away to do whatever it was he did to pass his time. Alone and lost in her thoughts, she had wondered if she was about to take a nap when something caught her eye.

Squinting and sitting forward to see it better, she realized it was a twinkling flash. As it got closer, she recognized that it was the ball of light that was Sesshomaru, flying out of the trees. She had been overjoyed to see him, smiling with excited words already dancing on her lips as she popped up to her feet. He had come to a stop right in front of her, the wind his movement had generated billowing her hair and clothing around her. As the light around him fading away until his familiar frame became visible, her smile also faded as she realized that something was amiss. Her stomach dropped out and she reached for him, his name a bewildered whisper slipping out of her.

In front of her disbelieving eyes, her husband dropped to his knee, his beautiful face marred in a grimace of pain. The markings on his face were jagged and she could see his fangs exposed past his lips as a snarl slipped out. His armor was broken, much like it had been when she had first seen him all those years ago, and she could see a big hole punched through where his stomach was. She joined him on her knees, feeling a million things at once and not able to pin one down. "Sesshomaru _—_!" She gasped out, hands hovering uselessly inches away from his body as she hesitated, not knowing where she could touch him that wouldn't hurt.

His eyes snapped open when he heard his name, red as the blood staining his kimono. For the briefest moment, she thought he didn't recognize her. His eyes, normally a beautiful clear amber that she had learned how to read like a book, were empty of anything. It lasted only a second because when he blinked, she could see that he knew her. His snarl smoothed out and he just...tipped forward, dropping his forehead onto her shoulder with a soft grunt of pain that she would never have heard if he wasn't essentially on top of her.

Rin swallowed hard, feeling very much like she wanted to cry. She slipped her arms under his, wrapping him up in an embrace as she had so many times before, but this time she was holding him up, whispering to assure the two of them; "You are home, you are safe. I've got you." Before she looked back towards the house. "Jaken! Please, help!" She called, and her small, fierce protector appeared almost immediately, brandishing his staff threateningly. When he saw what had called him out, he burst into a fit of his own frantic yells, demanding to know what had happened, running up to the two of them.

When he got within arms reach of the two of them, she felt the muscles in Sesshomaru's body tense up as he lifted his head and fixed Jaken with a stare that had the little toad demon freeze where he was. Jaken quickly backed away, apologizing. Rin winced an apology of her own to her small friend feeling responsible as she had been the one to call him over in the first place. She was wondering why she had bothered when it dawned on her that Jaken was even smaller than she was and there was no way the two of them, combined or alone, could move their Lord to a safer place. She let out a frustrated noise as she looked around, and was just beginning to feel the scratches of hysteria in the back of her throat when Sesshomaru started to stand.

"Oh!" She gasped as she felt the weight that he had leaned on her shift and she quickly stood with him, hands moving to once again uselessly flutter around him. At his full height, he stood absolutely still. He did not move forward towards the house, nor did he move away. Rin realized suddenly that he...he might not be able to. That he might have used his last bit of energy getting to a safe place. Once again, she remembered back to when she had found him lying in the forest and how he had appeared in a flash and then not moved from his spot for a day. She looked back towards their home wondering if it was close enough for her to make it, before steeling herself and reaching out towards her husband.

She slipped the arm that didn't have his pelt wrapped around it over her shoulder, his swords digging painfully against her hip, and her hand settled on his hip. He let her maneuver him around wordlessly and once she hoisted his arm up more firmly onto her shoulder he began to walk. His movement actually took her by such surprise that she almost tripped, but she quickly fell into step with him. As they walked, she wondered if her having a hold of him was even helpful when she realized she didn't feel him putting any weight on her, but the moment she went to withdraw her hand from his waist he stopped moving altogether so she left it where it was and they approached their home.

Jaken rushed forward and opened the door for the two of them, to which she nodded at him gratefully, whispering a thank you as they passed, before Jaken closed the door on the two with a quiet _snap_. As if that was some secret signal he had been waiting for, she felt some of his weight lean onto her and she looked up at his face quickly, afraid he was about to pass out. He still was in that in-between state that he had been in when he had appeared and the grimace had reappeared. Sensing that she had moments before it was just her and her own strength, she hurried over towards where her bed was still set up.

Trying to be gentle, she helped him onto the blankets. At a loss for what to do, Rin busied herself with situating his pelt around him. She came behind him and scooped her hands under his head, fingers slipping past strands of silver hair, bending over him to meet his red gaze. With a shaky breath, she laid her forehead against his for a moment before she laid him back down on his fur like it was a pillow as softly as if he was made of glass. Once he was settled, she finally gave in and looked down at his wounds. She winced, eyes again drawn to the large hole punched into his stomach, that feeling of wanting to cry coming back to her. "Oh, Sesshomaru," she whispered, voice cracking as she reached out towards him before pulling her hand back to her chest.

 _What does he need?_ She looked back up to his face and noticed that his eyes had closed, mouth set in a firm line. Maybe that was all he needed, to rest? That was all he had really done the last time she had seen him in such dire straits. _I should give him privacy, let him be_ , she thought to herself, not wanting to leave him but worried that her presence would just be a distraction. She stood and, as quietly as she possibly could, she crept her way to the door.

"No," his voice carried across the room and froze her in place, hand on the frame. She turned around and saw his red gaze staring at her. "Stay." He told her in that same warped, rougher version of her husband's smooth voice, and when she hesitated, he said it again, "Stay." She nodded, coming back over to him, settling on the wood floor. He watched her approach, following her until she was settled next to him before his eyes slid closed again. Silence filled the room and in the silence, Rin suffered. She hated the quiet, it only made her think about all of the things that have and could go wrong.

"You scared me," she murmured, a tear slipping out against her will, speaking up when she could bear the quiet no longer. "You aren't allowed to do this again." She told him firmly, sniffling as more tears fell. He remained motionless and silent, but she let herself pretend that his stiff laying had a somewhat contrite feel to it. She put her hand over her face, exhausted, and took a deep breath, reaching out her other hand to gently slip her fingers over his.

She sat like that, her clammy hand holding his limp one, kneeling on the floor, watching him for hours. The sun went down and she let the room fill with darkness, unwilling to leave him to light candles. All she could hear was his steady breathing, changing from low rasps to something more familiar-sounding as the time passed until she almost couldn't hear it anymore. Finally, unable to sit in the dark silence any more, she gently slid her hand out of his and fumbled for a candle. It sprang to life and gave her a small halo of light as she walked back over to him, sitting closer to his head this time.

In the dim candlelight, she saw that his appearance had returned to normal. She felt faint with relief and she reached out to gently brush her fingers across his smooth magenta markings. When her cool skin touched his cheek, his eyes slid open a crack and a familiar amber met her own greedy gaze. She gulped and smiled shakily at him. "Hello," she whispered, setting down the candle so she could put both her hands on him, unable to form words for the first time in a long time.

"Rin…" His voice drifted out of him as the same hand she had held for hours rose up to gently hold onto her wrist. She wondered if she was hurting him, but he made absolutely no move to stop her, just holding onto her and brushing his thumb back and forth, as if to anchor himself to her. She couldn't blame him as it was taking every ounce of her very weak will to not crawl into the bed with him and wrap him in a hug. Instead, she palmed his whole face, thumb against his mouth and pinky along his jaw, and she keeled over at the waist, pulling his hand over to hold against her chest.

"I'm so relieved," she whispered to him, fresh tears falling into his pelt. She heard him shifting around and her head jerked up to look at him just in time to see him push himself into a sitting position. "W-wait-you'll hurt yourself!" She told him, fighting the urge to physically wrestle him back down. He sat a little more tenderly than he normally would and she noticed right away, exasperated with him and going up onto her knees, hands hovering anxiously over his shoulders to...push him back? Throttle him? Either option seemed viable.

His eyes drifted across her wet face and even though she was very confident that this was the least beautiful she had ever looked, he still reached out and cupped the back of her head, pulling her into him. Her face fell against his shoulder and she made a strangled sound, shuffling closer to him and wrapping her arms around his chest. She felt him lean his face into her head, his thumb stroking against her hair, and it was so tender that it made her cry harder. Her hands fisted the back of his kimono and she squeezed him a little tighter, wishing she had a hundred arms to hold him with.

"I would like to get out of my armor." He spoke into her hair and she nodded, but neither of them moved. It was like each one was waiting for the other to pull away first but both of them were too reluctant to do so. With one final sniff, Rin finally did, scooting back away from him to give him some room to maneuver. She looked him up and down, trying to see him as best as she could in the weak light of the one candle as he twisted to begin removing the different pieces.

"Here," she mumbled, and she reached forward to help him undo his clasps and ties. He had not asked her for help, and he looked more and more like he didn't need any, but she couldn't help herself. Though her rational brain knew that he was a very, _very_ powerful daiyouki and that he had probably fully healed himself in the time they had been sitting here, she couldn't shake the horrible image of him when he had first showed up. He caught and moved the armor as it came loose until it was just his kimono. "Oh…" She gasped, looking at all of the dark stains on the white silk where he had bled, the ragged hole in the middle. Her vision swirled as her eyes focused on the darkest, largest splotch over his midsection and she closed her eyes, feeling dizzy. "I will get you different clothes." She told him, standing to go find something he could wear in the meantime that she could stomach seeing.

When she returned, he was fully disrobed. While this was normally a very exciting development for her, this time she was too busy raking her eyes down him, looking for proof of any unhealed wounds. Though the light was dim, she couldn't see anything but faint bruises where the worst of the injury had been and she was sure those would be gone by the morning. He turned to her and accepted the new kimono wordlessly. She looked down at their bed and realized that the bloody blankets had all been changed as well, and knew that it had been him. _At least he is healthy enough to be moving around_ , she thought wryly while she looked at him. He turned away from her as he slipped his arms into the sleeves, presenting her his back. As he flipped his long hair out from the collar and worked to tie the clothing closed, she suddenly grew afraid that he was going to disappear.

Rin stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing the length of her body against his back. Her palms rested across his chest and stomach, reminding herself that he was whole again, feeling his heartbeat strong against her fingers. His own hand came up and threaded his fingers with the one she had on his heart. He turned around in her embrace and she looked up into his downturned face, swallowing hard. He bent down and rested his lips against her forehead gently, his breath ruffling her bangs. She went up to her tiptoes and kissed him fully on the mouth, desperate to feel him, to make his miraculous recovery more real to her. She pulled back from him and rested the bridge of her nose against his cheek, taking deep breaths.

Funnily enough, she seemed to be more torn up about his near demise than he was. To her, he was a bit more subdued than normal, but he definitely wasn't acting like he almost died in their backyard. If anything, he seemed more worried about her which she found simultaneously comforting and distinctly unfair of him. There were so many things she wanted to say— _Are you really okay?_ _Who did that to you? What do I do if it happens again?_ Will _it happen again? It_ can't _happen again!—_ but the words stuck to her tongue and died.

Instead, she led her husband to their bed where the two of them laid down. She wrapped her arms around him, grabbing fistfuls of his kimono as his fingers gently combed through her hair. She kept her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his formidable heart. If this was a normal night, she would have happily chatted with him until she fell asleep mid-thought, letting the feeling of his hands on her remind her that he would be awake to keep her dreams sweet.

Tonight, however, she was too wound up to talk, and he never had much to say even when he was perfectly healthy. They laid in their quiet bubble as the night passed, the two of them clinging to each other in different ways for different things. For one panicked moment, Rin thought he was dying when she realized that the cadence of his heart was slowing down and the strokes of his fingers brushing along her were becoming weaker. She tipped her head up to look at him and realized with no small amount of surprise that he had just fallen asleep. His face was relaxed, turned towards her, and completely unguarded. Her heart gave a sore _thump_ against her ribcage and she greedily drank in this rare sight of him before she laid her head back down against his chest.

On this one night, it was Rin who took it upon herself to stay awake and guard their precious home from whatever nightmares lurked in the darkness.

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**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**I honestly don't think that Sesshomaru would ever get his little demon butt kicked this badly by anyone who isn't his brother, but for _dramatic effect_ let's just pretend it was like Kirinmaru or something. The idea of Sesshomaru being vulnerable with Rin and only Rin was just too tantalizing to pass up haha!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	11. Mementos

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 _“I want you always to remember me._ _Will you remember that I existed, and that I stood next to you like this?”_

_— Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Woods_

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There were many things that Rin adored about Sesshomaru, more than there were grains of sand on a beach. She could go on and on for hours about the way that he looked and how he carried himself. That regal sort of stance where he seemed so rigid and unwavering. The proud way he would lift his chin as if to confront the very wind itself and dare it to try and blow him away. The angles to his face and body that seemed as harsh as the scowl that he wore on his face. How he was almost impossibly elegant, pristine no matter how many days he had been tromping through the wilderness. The soft way that he would look at her, and only her, when they were alone together. How, sometimes, she would catch him staring at her with that certain gleam in his eye and how he would meet her gaze with a dare and a smile on his lips.

She treasured all of those things about him, obviously, but the one thing that made her feel like she was falling in love with him all over again was when he would give her flowers. It was never a bouquet, usually just one flower that he would present to her in between his claws, but she loved them all the same.

There was the beautiful yellow one that he had first given her when the two had been sitting in the grass together. He had reached over and gently sliced at the stem of the small wildflower with his thumb nail. Rin watched him curiously as he brought it up to his face and gazed down into the center of it, gently spinning it in his grasp before looking over and handing it to her. She smiled gleefully and accepted it, tucking it behind her ear delicately before posing for him. Hands under her chin, batting her eyelashes she said, "How do I look?" He had looked at her for a moment before a small smile had twitched up his lips and he reached over and cupped her cheek.

"Beautiful," he said, kissing her.

There was the flower that he had picked from the tree as they passed under it together, a clump of beautiful purple flowers. She had gasped when she had seen the tree, running over through its drooping branches. When she had gotten to the middle of its immense canopy, she spread her arms out and twirled, laughing with delight. He followed her slowly, watching her relish in her joy, before stopping a few feet away. Her spinning stopped and she swayed on her feet, dizzy but happy, and put her hands to her cheeks as she looked at her husband.

He cocked his head, studying her before turning and walking over to the lower hanging branches that were still out of her reach, and stretched his arm out to snag one bunch. He brought it over and handed them to her and she made a soft sound of amazement at how small and perfect each little flower was. She looked at it before carefully transferring it over to one hand and brushing her fingers across his petal-soft skin.

"Beautiful," she murmured, smiling.

There had been the red flower, that truly had seen better days, which he brought home for her. She had been doing her laundry, humming to herself as she unstrung and took down her clothes from the rope she had hung up. He had appeared from under a sheet, pulling it down and handing it to her as he walked past it. She had chorused a happy "Welcome home!" reaching out to take the sheet while she went up on her tiptoes to place a delighted kiss on him.

When she stepped away, he held up his other hand, and in it was a wilted, red flower that he obviously had picked a while ago and carried all the way home. Her heart gave a sappy thump when she realized that he had done all that just because he knew she would have wanted to pick it if she had been with him. It was so thoughtful, so singularly done for the purpose of making her happy, that she didn't even care that the petals were wrinkled or the stem was limp. She picked it up, supporting its floppy neck, and smelled it before cradling it to her chest.

"It's _beautiful_ ," she assured him, feeling choked up.

Oh, and she would never forget the exotic white flower that they had found one night while out together. She and he had snuck away from Jaken to have some… privacy and they had come across a field full of stunning white flowers that almost looked like they were glowing. He had seemed reluctant to be so out in the open but she was able to convince him, wanting to see him in this way amongst the flowers and in the light of the full moon.

In the aftermath, they lay sweaty and happy as the grass swayed around their heads, all slow lingering touches and soft voices. He had sat up, hair shimmering in the light of the swirling masses of stars above, and reached over her. When he reappeared he had a beautiful white flower in his claws. He looked at it and she 'oo'-ed over its beauty, which was truly even more fantastical up close. He glanced at her through hooded lids and handed her the flower. She took it and studied it before she stood up on her knees, the wind blowing across her naked skin leaving goosebumps in its wake. She gently pushed his silken hair back and situated the flower that matched him so perfectly behind his pointed ear. Her fingers slid down his face and she sighed, looking at him as he watched her with smoldering eyes.

"You are beautiful," she whispered, reverent.

The pink one that he gave her would forever hold a special place in her heart, though. She had just found out that she was pregnant and she had been _so_ worried about how to tell him. While she was fairly confident that he loved her enough that the notion of having a hanyou wouldn't be a big deal any longer, she still found herself hesitating, fidgeting. She had shied away from him and avoided his presence for a full day after she had found out, convinced he would notice that something was off about her and question her about it before she had a chance to come up with a good way to tell him.

She had been sitting outside, cross-legged in the grass and watching grasshoppers leap amongst the tall, green blades that swayed in the breeze. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that he had come outside, jumping when he sat down next to her. Rin gave him a nervous side-eye and did a double-take when she saw the beautiful pink lily he held in his relaxed fingers. She looked at it and realized that it had to be a present to make her feel better and that made her choke up and feel worse. He lifted it over to her, holding it out and she stared at it, mouth working soundlessly. She looked up at him, tears welling, and upon seeing his gentle, sincere face she couldn't keep it in anymore.

"I'm pregnant." She blurted, one tear escaping and rolling down her face.

"I know." He answered and gave her a small smile.

She blinked fast, underwhelmed, and relieved all at the same time. Laughing through her tears, she rubbed her arm across her eyes and nodded. He scooped her up in his embrace, holding her very tight and placing his face into the crook of her neck as she both wept and laughed. She dropped her arm and he sat up, pressing his forehead against hers. He tilted his head so that he was looking down and she followed his gaze just to see him reach out his pointer finger and gently, very gently, brush it along her stomach.

"Beautiful," he whispered as he beheld his family.

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**I hope you enjoyed it! Little soft palate cleanser after the last update haha!**

**My update schedule will be changing for a bit, going to updates on Tuesdays only because I'm working on another story that I need to split my time between. Sorry for any inconvenience but hopefully I will be able to get back to my normal twice-a-week updates soon. Thank you for your understanding!**


	12. Tithe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Popping in for a quick content warning!  
> There are heavy implications of adult themes in this chapter. No super graphic descriptions so not a lemon but it's nearing lime territory. If you are okay with that, read on! If not, I hope you enjoy the next chapter 😊

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_“Maybe we will wake up to the silence / of shoes at the foot of the bed not going anywhere.”_

_—Richard Siken, War of the Foxes_

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Rin woke up with the sun in her eyes, squinting against the bright beam of light that had so perfectly threaded the needle between the slats on the window to land on her eyeball. She let out a disgruntled groan, rolling over and pulling the covers over her, not quite ready to relinquish her hold on sleep. It was cold out there, anyway, and she was much more comfortable snuggled in all of the blankets with her husband. _Speaking of…_ she popped her head back out to crane her neck around looking for the husband in question.

He was sitting up next to her, watching her do everything to remain asleep short of fist-fighting the sun. Immediately upon seeing him her mood lightened. Smiling, she pulled the blankets up to her nose and made no secret about perusing him from head to toe.

Even after all this time, seeing him in anything that wasn't his armor felt like a treat, almost indecent. He wasn't even _doing_ anything special, but the way that he was sitting with one of his arms resting on his propped-up knee opened up the neck of his kimono and let her get some tantalizing peeks at the skin of his chest. She smiled dreamily as she followed the curve of his torso, feeling marginally less sleepy now than she had moments before.

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?" Rin asked, voice carefully nonchalant. Sesshomaru tipped his head so he could see her better through the blankets, his hair sliding over his shoulder.

"I am not in a hurry," he answered and she smiled, stretching her arms over her head and feet down, her toes poking out of the bottom of the blankets. She quickly wrapped herself up again, wearing her favorite of the blankets like a long cape, and rose on her knees to shuffle over to him. Sesshomaru, who was very used to her ploys to keep him in bed with her, shifted around so that his legs were crossed and waited patiently to see what she would do with him. Rin reached one hand out of the blanket to hold onto his shoulder before she, very gracefully, vaulted her leg over his lap and settled herself down.

Swaddled in her blanket and straddling her husband, she couldn't help but giggle at the absurd picture she probably had just made. She laughed freely, a small snort escaping her as she leaned forward to put her forehead against his chest, jumping a bit when she felt his chilled skin touched hers. Still grinning, she sat back up and began fiddling with the blanket, unwrapping it from herself and flapping it out like wings before throwing it overtop of the two of them.

He didn't even flinch as the blanket descended onto his head, but she felt his sigh where she was leaned up against him. In the privacy that their make-shift tent offered, Rin looked up at him. It was almost too dark for her to see, but she was sure he could see her just fine. Even with the sun making the room around them brighter, the filtered way it came through the blanket made everything feel all that more dreamlike and intimate, almost akin to candlelight. She smiled, very pleased with herself, and scooted forward on him so that the entirety of her their bodies touched and wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling her face into him. He obliged her, returning the embrace.

"You spoil me," she murmured against his skin, speaking directly about the way he let her put him in the most absurd scenarios, but also about how well and how much he loved her. She had heard Sango and Kagome complain about their love-lives when she had lived in the village and when she was young, she had assumed that there was just going to be inherent drama and strife involved in falling in love. So far, Rin had found that that wasn't the case for her. For all the cruelty and ruthlessness she knew was present in her husband, he had never been that way with her. He left those things in the doorway with his shoes.

He did not answer her assertion and she felt that only proved her point further. Though, she was sure he was going to get up soon which meant that _she_ was going to have to get up soon. Unless she found a good enough reason to keep him here with her. Grinning, she rubbed her face against the silk of his kimono before she leaned back a bit and pushed up the sagging blanket so she could see his face clearly. His eyes almost glowed in the dim light and she bit her lip, trying her best to hide the plan that was growing in her mind.

Lifting her chin, she glanced down at the loose neck of his kimono. Her hands reached out and she gently ran her palms from his shoulders down to where the silk was the loosest. She slipped the collar of it between her pointer and middle fingers pulling it apart even further before slipping her chilly hands in. She felt his muscles twitch against her as she rubbed her hands all along his torso. She retraced her path from earlier, hands on his shoulders, brushing down his chest, going down further across the planes and ridges of his stomach.

Rin let her fingers ever so slightly dip a little lower, teasing, before she slid around to his back and up onto his shoulders, humming happily like she wasn't actively antagonizing one of the most powerful beings in all of Japan. So pressed up against him like she was, she felt the way his heart was picking up speed, the small twitches, and intakes of air that she drew from him with her hands alone. _Delicious_ , her mind purred as Rin wiggled herself in his lap.

"Rin," he told her, voice low.

"Yes?" She responded, innocently.

"I know what you're doing," his voice rumbled in his chest as he spoke against her hair, his hands drifting down to rest against her hips, thumb stroking. She snickered as she leaned forward and placed her mouth against his collarbone, kissing once before sucking hard. Her hands drifted from his shoulders and scratched their way down his back, applying enough pressure that she knew he would feel it but not enough to really hurt him.

"Oh, bummer," she lamented, pulling her mouth away from him with a tsk. "My plot has been discovered." She glanced up at him and saw the hooded way he was looking at her, knowing she already won, before glancing at the mark she had left that would darken over the next few hours. "And here I thought you weren't in a hurry," she murmured in a disappointed tone, her hips beginning to slowly, agonizingly, swirl in his grasp.

She felt his breath hitch where his mouth was against her head and she closed her eyes, sliding her hands up to drape around his neck. She relished in this feeling, the slow burn that started in her blood, chasing away any drowsiness that she had been feeling. She turned her face to his where he was nuzzling against her and blindly reached for his mouth in the darkness of their blanket. Sesshomaru met her and the contact of their lips was delicious, burying her hands in the hair at the nape of his neck.

She changed up her movements, going from a slow rotation to a more deliberate dragging over him. She felt him grimace against her as his hands went from her hips to grasp onto her thighs where they were on either side of his waist. Her heart was pounding in her and she could feel it all over, opening her lips against his and cracking her eyes open to watch his expressions. She whispered to him; "Stay with me," and he answered her by sweeping his tongue into her mouth, hands tightening on her thighs, holding her in place. Triumphant, she laughed and relinquished her control to him, loving that he was as weak to her as she was to him. _What a nice way to start my day,_ she thought happily as he broke away from her mouth and licked up her neck.

A soft moan escaped her mouth, more of a loud breath than anything really, relishing in the way he made her feel. She arched back delicately and felt him smile before suddenly his head shot up and he grasped her hips, stopping her slow movements and freezing her in place. Startled, she blearily held onto his lapel, blinking owlishly up at him as he stared in the direction of the door, a glare slowly descending on his face. "What—?" she started and then froze when a tentative tap against the door alerted her to the fact that they weren't alone.

"It's Jaken," Sesshomaru told her and Rin cocked an eyebrow, knowing he had probably come looking for his overdue lord to take him away from her grasp and into the wilds. _That just won't do,_ she decided as she leaned forward and began to kiss along the skin of his chest and collarbone.

"Ignore him," she whispered, stretching herself out to reach his chin, peppering more kisses along his jawline. "We haven't even gotten to the good part," she lamented, breath ghosting across his ear, pressing herself against him as his vice-like grip on her grew a little less constraining. Like he couldn't help himself, he turned his face to hers and she heard the smallest of sounds from him. Not quite a groan, not quite a growl, but it had her grinning happily. His hands slid into her kimono and she bit her lip to stop the sounds he began to draw from her.

"M'lord?" Came Jaken's voice from the abyss outside of their blanket-tent. Rin jumped and then put her hand against her mouth to muffle her gasp as well as the laugh that threatened to spill out. She leaned her head against her husband's shoulder, all of her attention on trying her best not to make a sound that would alert the little demon outside to the activities that he was interrupting.

"Go away." Was Sesshomaru's very pithy response.

Jaken vanished almost immediately and Rin couldn't stop the laughs that spilled from her as his feet quickly padded away down the hall. Sesshomaru pulled the blanket off of them in one fluid motion, leaning forward so that she was crushed under him.

How lucky for her that he wasn't in a rush.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading! 😊**


	13. Of Comfort and Nursery Rhymes

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_“…and the only thing they hear is each other, though no one is saying a word.”_

_— Stig Dagerman, A Moth to a Flame (Burnt Child) (trans. Benjamin Mier-Cruz)_

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 _I can’t believe I forgot to bring these back inside last night,_ Rin lamented as she looked at the sopping wet toys that she carried in her arms. She ducked her head and hurried through the rain, her bare feet only slipping on the slick grass once before she righted herself and walked with all the dignity that a woman carrying baby toys could. In the cover of her entryway, she sighed and knelt down to drop her cargo on the ground to sort through. They had brought them outside yesterday while they laid in the grass and enjoyed the day, but once the girls had fallen asleep she had forgotten to go back and pick up the mess they had left. The rain hadn’t been exactly kind to them, either. 

Luckily for her, the worst of it had died down. Still kneeling in the doorway with the soaked dolls in hand, Rin looked around before deciding to just lay the two small trinkets out to dry and hoped that they would do so quickly. Both of her daughters were sweet girls, but when they wanted their favorite toys they were not shy about letting them know.

Rin sighed, sitting back on her heels and pushing her loose hair back from her face. She stood, snagging the shawl she had abandoned in her hurry and pulling it tight around her shoulders against the cool air of the morning before standing up again. She slowly began to walk back to their bedroom, her bare, damp feet making soft padding noises against the wood floor. It was so odd to be in the house and exist in the silence, especially since it had been anything _but_ quiet for a long time. 

Though, to be fair, it was unusual for Rin to be wandering the halls this early. Normally at this time, she would have rolled over and wrapped her legs and arms around her husband and fallen back to sleep but when she had gone to do just that, she had heard the rain on the roof and shot out of bed to go save the toys. _The sacrifices I make for my precious, lucky children,_ Rin thought wryly, smiling to herself.

She approached the room, making efforts to try and walk a little softer. The door was still opened about a hands-width from when she had quickly slipped through and she walked up to it, fingers slipping in to press it open gently, mouth already opening to tell Sesshomaru what had happened, but stopped when she looked up. Standing in the doorway, looking into the room through the opening she had left, Rin watched her husband hold their children.

He was sitting up, the two babies laying with their heads propped up against his crossed knees and their torsos in the small circle that his legs made, their tiny, curious eyes staring up at his. Rin could tell immediately by looking at the two girl’s red faces and gentle shimmer of moisture along their cheeks that they must have started fussing while she had been outside frantically gathering up their things. 

Sesshomaru was leaning over the two of them, long strands of his hair falling over his shoulder as he gently stroked the back of his finger over Setsuna’s cheeks while his thumb brushed over Towa’s knuckles that tightly held his other pointer in her little fist. He was not speaking or humming like she usually did when comforting them, but they didn’t seem to mind, the two of them looking up at him as if the three were having a psychic conversation that she couldn’t understand.

Rin swallowed hard, letting her head lean against the doorframe as she took in the scene before her. She could blame the early morning on her sentimental sniffling, say that she was just more emotional before the sun was up, but in reality, she was so overwhelmed with love as she looked at the small gathering of precious souls sitting on her bed. She had no idea that it was even possible for her to love as much as she did, and every time she was sure that she had finally reached the highest point of her love, more poured in. She was almost reluctant to walk in to join them, so caught up in committing this picture to her memory. She leaned her hip against the door frame and the wood gently creaked, giving her away. He looked up towards her at the sound, though she was sure he knew she had been standing there the whole time, and locked eyes with her.

She smiled, caught red-handed, and softly pushed the door open just enough for her to slip through and smoothly shut it behind her. Rin walked up to him, his warm eyes following her as she approached his sitting form, and wrapped her hands around his head to press him into her stomach. He let her do so, gently pulling his finger from Towa’s grasp to return her embrace by slipping his arm around her legs, palm pressing into her lower back. They hung suspended like this for a moment, enjoying the feel of each other. Eventually, Rin released him and walked around to sit across from him, their knees touching.

“Good morning,” she whispered, smiling at him. 

“Good morning,” he responded, inclining his head, eyes sliding along the wet marks on her shoulders. She laughed and waved it off. 

“I tried to save their toys but, ah, I was a little late.” She sheepishly scratched her cheek before she leaned forward, her hands bracing themselves on his thighs, to kiss him. Unhurried and slow, she brushed her lips over his before pulling back a bit to smile at him again, wishing she had the words to tell him how much she loved him and how happy he made her. Before she could get to work inventing a new language just for him, her daughter began to make unhappy sounds.

She leaned back and looked down at Towa who seemed devastated that her father had taken his finger away from her so cruelly, her lips turned down in the deepest frown that Rin had ever seen. Rin let out a sympathetic sound, cooing softly to her as she leaned down and peppered kisses over Towa’s head and cheeks and down her nose.

“They were very sad when you left,” Sesshomaru informed her solemnly, a serene expression on his face as he watched her follow the same kissing routine on Setsuna so that she wouldn’t feel left out. 

“Oh, my poor babies!” Rin exclaimed in a melodramatic fashion as she walked on her knees to come and sit next to Sesshomaru so that she could look at the aforementioned poor babies without giving herself a neck cramp. Rin leaned her face down close to Towa who still seemed like she couldn’t decide if she was quite over her earlier sadness, adopting a goofy tone and waving her fingers at her daughter. “Never fear, I have returned and shall _never_ leave you again!” Towa watched her and Rin reached out to gently hold onto the small, chubby hands that were now so empty

Rin began to sing softly, waving little Towa’s hands back and forth, smiling triumphantly when she began to giggle and kick her little legs around. Setsuna, like she couldn’t help herself, also started to wiggle around excitedly and Rin reached over to take hold of one of her excellent little hands as well. Rin felt Sesshomaru’s arm slip around her waist and hold her close, pressing his forehead against her hair as she sang nursery rhymes to their children, and Rin wished that things could be this perfect forever.

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**I hope you enjoyed this story! I know this chapter makes my "canon compliant" tag a little shaky but it was very therapeutic for me to write haha, cut me some slack!**


	14. Nightmares

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_ “I am tired of being brave.”  _

_ — Anne Sexton _

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Rin had nightmares.

It was embarrassing to admit, and she hadn’t ever willingly revealed this to anyone, but she had never grown out of the nightmares that plagued her for most of her life. When she had been younger, her nightmares had made her feel small and helpless, waking fearful and frustrated that she wasn’t free from the things that made her wince at distant howls and foggy memories even in sleep. She had wethered them alone in the darkness of whatever cold place she had hunkered down for the night until she didn’t need to anymore.

A-Un, for his fierce appearance and purpose, had never been anything but a comforting source of warmth and a willing pillow. For a while that had been fine, just the presence of another being was enough to remind her she was safe and for a bit, and her nightmares seemed to go away. Until it wasn’t enough anymore and they came back. 

Then it had been up to Jaken to jab her awake awkwardly with the end of his staff and order her to be silent as her tears were offensive to the ears of the demons present, though his tune changed as she grew to be a more integral part of the group and his midnight wake-up calls, while gruff and not exactly warm, had taken on a more...dare she say, parental tone? Regardless of the emotion behind Jaken’s bumps and prods, he was always able to wake her up just as the nightmares began, snapping her out of it before it worked her up to the point of real terror. It had been enough.

Yet, even now, as the grown woman that she was, lying in bed with one of the most fearsome beings in existence, arguably nowhere safer for her to be, she would get nightmares. They were rare, much rarer than when she had been younger, but every once in awhile her brain would dredge up some memory for her to suffer through. As it had this night.

In her dream, she was running. She was always running and she was never fast enough, the shadows of teeth snapping at her heels, the gut-dropping panic of  _ knowing  _ that she wasn’t fast enough and the desperation of wishing something—anything—would save her. Screaming for help, but no one could hear. No one was coming.

With a great shuddering gasp, she woke up, her arms shooting out wildly as she jerked her head up to look around her. She panted, blinking hard, heart pounding in her chest, as she forcefully swallowed down the rising panic. Pushing handfuls of her hair out of her face, she turned around and realized that the spot in the bed next to her was empty. This wasn’t odd as Sesshomaru sometimes would wander after she had gone to sleep, however, at present, it was a little too much for Rin in the state she was in.

Her hands shook as she worked to disentangle herself from the blankets to go and find him. Behind her, the door quickly slid open and closed again and she turned to see him walking in. Their eyes met and she could see immediately that he had known. She didn’t know if it was his keen nose or his hearing, but he  _ knew _ that she needed him. She blinked hard, still frozen in her position half out of the bed, voice stuck stuttering on the first syllable of his name. He approached her in large strides, dropping down to take her face in his hands in perfect synchronization with her collapse. Her expression crumpled and she grasped his lapel, crying miserably.

His thumbs brushed away her tears as she gasped and shuddered, trying her best to be quiet. She leaned forward and pressed her face into his shoulder, muffling the sounds of her sobs in the silk. He enveloped her in his embrace and rested his lips against the shell of her ear, his warm breath ghosting along the skin there.

As she wept herself closer to exhaustion, she realized that he was whispering to her. Softly, and calmly telling her; “You are safe now.” She gulped hard, nodding her head, agreeing with him, knowing that he was right and fighting to convince her body that he was telling the truth. She sucked in a deep breath, holding it in, before pushing it back out again. She repeated the process, closing her eyes, gulping air, and focusing on Sesshomaru. She focused on his words, she focused on his own steady breaths and his smell. She pried her fingers from his clothing and rested her flat, shaky palm against his chest, feeling his heart.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered in a waterlogged, tired voice.

“You should not be.” He answered, lifting her effortlessly and maneuvering them so that she was laying against his chest in their bed, blankets pulled up around her securely. Rin snuffled and cleared her throat, dragging the back of her hand along her cheeks to wipe away the moisture there. Her face felt swollen and raw, and, honestly, so did she. Seldom did she have occasion to cry and even less so for the kind of full-body purge of emotions that she had just experienced. In this aftermath, she felt like a doll on a shelf; boneless and glassy-eyed.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, realizing that she should say something to him seeing as she had just thoroughly snotted all over his fine clothing. She tipped her head up so that her chin rested against his chest and she looked up into his face. He returned her gaze, his eyebrows pinched delicately as his hand came over and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. His eyes glanced across her face and she was sure that he was taking in her horrendous appearance, but she was too drained to really care. He had seen her worse conditions, anyhow.

“Sleep.” He told her, voice low and sending a rumble through her. She nodded and dropped her face back down against his chest. She jerked herself awake a few times, but eventually, even her subconscious couldn’t find an excuse to be afraid while in the embrace of her Lord and she slipped away into peaceful, blessed, nothing.

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**Thank you for reading! I've been sitting on this one for a few weeks and I finally decided to post it haha, so I hope that you enjoyed it!**


	15. Voyeur

_The longing to touch / be touched. I feel gratitude when I touch someone—as well as affection, etc. The person has allowed me proof that I have a body—and that there are bodies in the world."_

— _Susan Sontag, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh_

* * *

There was a weird awareness that a person got of themselves when another watched them. The idea that there was an audience, captive or otherwise, made someone almost hyperaware of the way that they moved and looked. It was a mixture of anticipation and that tingly feeling at the base of one's neck. That primal, giddy feeling inside that almost felt like the precursor to something. It was heady and addictive and definitely not the way Rin normally felt while she was washing her clothes.

She was knelt on her knees next to the bank of a river, working up a very impressive sweat as the sun beat down on her and she slapped her clothes against her washboard. Rin normally didn't mind doing this specific chore, mostly because she was one person who made very little laundry to begin with, and what laundry she did have was pretty mild, but it was so _hot_ outside today that she felt miserable. With a sigh, she sat back and swept her hair back in her fist, lifting it off of her neck to wave her hand against her clammy neck.

She swallowed and twisted her hair into a bun, tying it back as best as she could with what she had, pushing the small flyaway strands that were sticking to her sweaty face out of her eyes. She leaned forward and slid her bare arms into the river up to the biceps just to let the cool water touch her overheated skin. It was so tempting to just abandon her chore and slip all the way in. Who would stop her? No one would and no one in their right mind would be working on a day like this anyway.

But then she would need to do it tomorrow, and Sesshomaru was supposed to be back home tonight. Rin dropped her head forward as she conceded that she would much rather spend time with her husband. _If you don't do it now, you won't do it,_ she told herself encouragingly, making her new goal to just be done and take a bath. With all of the dignity and solemn resolve of someone walking to the gallows, she sat back again and reached over for another garment when all of a sudden she got a distinct feeling that she wasn't alone.

She froze for the barest of moments, catching sight of him out of the corner of her eye as he stood a short distance behind her where Jaken had been resting moments before. A slow smile spread across her face but she did not turn to greet him, instead, she grabbed her kimono and turned back towards her work as if she hadn't noticed him at all. Back turned to him, she sat back on her heels and weighed the consequences of her steadily forming plan silently, lathering the soap in the cloth slowly, thoughtfully.

On the one hand, she was sweaty and hot and ready to go inside, not even taking into account how badly she probably smelled. Sweaty, manic, washer lady wasn't exactly an appealing sight, much less a particularly tempting one. On the other hand, though, she hadn't seen him in a few days and it was so _very_ fun to tease him.

Rin pursed her lips and let a secret, naughty smile slip out as she changed the way she held herself, the decision made. Earlier, she had hunched over her laundry, all splashing and scrubbing and irritation at the task set before her. Now, actually making sure that her clothing ended up clean was the furthest thing from her mind. She arched her back, doing her best to make herself look attractive, sweat stains be damned, her movements slower and more deliberate.

She let her whole top-half rise and fall as she drug her clothes along the washboard, accentuating her movements and making sure that he got the show he hadn't asked for but deserved from his vantage on her rear. She swirled the soap out of her clothes and leaned back, wringing the water out, to throw it in with her other wet clothes to be hung up, casting a surreptitious glance towards where he was standing. With a start, she realized he wasn't there anymore and she gave up on pretense and craned herself all the way around, looking for him.

Not being able to spot him, and feeling more than a little silly, she sighed and turned back around. She gave a yelp of surprise when her husband's legs blocked her from the river, falling back a bit. Rin recovered quickly, grinning up at him as he looked down at her, eyes passing over her face and body.

"Welcome home," she chirped at him, standing up quickly and reaching her hands out to slip them around his waist. He looked down at her, expression softening, and his lips were welcoming and familiar as she reached up to place a cheerful peck against them. "I missed you," she murmured to him, a sentiment he heard from her every time they were apart from each other but was no less true.

She stepped back, letting her fingers slide along him until she was far enough away that she couldn't physically maintain contact and she let her hands drop to her sides. She turned and bent over to pick up her laundry but was stopped by pressure against the ties she had on her back to keep her long sleeves pulled back out of her way. She stopped, confused, and turned to look back at Sesshomaru who had reached out one, long, delicate finger and hooked it in the cloth there. His gaze was as warm as the sun blazing down on her and she raised her eyebrows in response, walking backward as he pulled on her until her back was pressed flush against him.

She craned her head over to look up at him as he looked down at her, his free hand coming around her to help tip her chin up. She drew in a shaky breath and couldn't stop herself from quickly licking her lips as her eyes zoned in on his own pale, soft mouth. In her position, she couldn't reach up and pull him to her as she was wont to do, and so she was at his mercy as he leaned forward and softly ran his lips against her sweaty forehead, down to her cheek, over her lips brushing against them too quickly and gently for her tastes, barely touching.

She wiggled against him, trying to get her hand up to him and add a little urgency but he caught her and held her fast. He leaned back from her and the two stared at each other. She pinched her brows together and all but stomped her feet like a petulant child, wanting to kiss him so badly and knowing he wanted to do the same but this was his revenge for the show she had given him earlier. He always took his time to savor her like the most decadent meal and while she normally loved the attention, she wanted to kiss him _now_ , not in an hour. Rin caught the smirk that twitched up his lips before he leaned forward and sealed his mouth against hers.

Against her back, she could feel his contented sigh and she echoed the sentiment, moving her mouth against his. She wished that she could turn around and mold herself up against him to really get _into_ it, but he held her fast, the arm around her waist like a vice. That didn't stop her from pressing her lips more insistently into his, opening her mouth to catch the air that suddenly had become a scarce commodity. Her legs felt shaky and she marveled at the power he held over her body even after all this time, like magic.

His large hand pressed into her ribs and his thumb brushed against the cloth there but it felt as hot as a branding iron on her and she pitched her eyebrows together pitifully as she realized she was way in over her head, gasping into his mouth as tingles ran up and down her body, gathering in her brain like static and blocking out rational thought. The hand that he had previously restrained was set free and she quickly slid it up and onto his cheek, her fingers brushing along the skin there lightly.

For all the torment that he was putting her through emotionally, the kiss was really just a slow, needy, meeting of two people. The happening of it was so unimportant and disinteresting to the world around them that even if there had been people around, no one would have noticed that the two of them were engaging in some, frankly appalling, displays of affection. Such a sharp contrast from the way Rin felt inside, but honestly, she couldn't deny how _nice_ it felt to just be in a place with a person that she trusted implicitly and lose herself to him, even if it were just for a moment.

And what a short moment it ended up being.

With a pained gasp, Rin pulled away from him and he let her go immediately, hands dropping from her. She put her hand against her neck and winced, Sesshomaru's form casting a shadow over her as he leaned over with an air of concern on his face. She smiled sheepishly and pointed her free hand towards her neck. "Sorry, I, uh…" she couldn't stop the sputtering laugh that eeked out, "Neck cramp." She finished lamely, fingers massaging the knot that had appeared while she had had her neck cranked around and up.

He blinked at her once and she caught the shadow of a smile on his lips before he turned away and picked up her basket of wet clothes. Taking the cue that they were leaving, hopefully to continue their rendezvous in their much more comfortable bedroom, Rin quickly collected the rest of her supplies and the two of them fell into step beside each other, heading home.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	16. Strong Foundations

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_“Can you imagine a love so gentle and honest, that it fundamentally changes a person’s nature for the better? Can you imagine a love so good and pure, that it changes someones life?”_

_— Because I can’t, Excerpt From a Book I’ll Never Write (via sunflowerletters)_

\---

Rin stood in the middle of an empty room and tried to imagine what it would be. The room was still and quiet, almost stuffy from lack of airflow. The wood flooring was unmarked by time or use and her feet padded along it as she did a slow circle around it, looking all around, studying it for signs that she was just dreaming. But there was nothing; this was real. This home was _hers_ and she was going to share it with her new husband.

The thought had her smiling and putting her hands over her face, blushing, and feeling giddy. She could stop the happy little jump that she added to her next step as she pirouetted and swung her arms out wide. Rin walked over to the window on the far wall and looked out, trying to figure out which side of the house she was on. Trees were all she could see and she made a thoughtful sound now that she knew that she was towards the back where it butted up with the forest. She tapped her finger against her lips thoughtfully, turning away from the window to look around at the room again.

It was such an unassuming room, just perfectly sized to be almost anything except for a room for big gatherings. Rin let her mind roam through the different possibilities, even as she already knew what this was going to be. In the back of her mind, she had very quickly decided that this was going to be their bedroom. It had been the first thought she had when she had walked in, and the deal had been sealed when she realized that she would be able to wake up and fall asleep to the sounds and smells of the forest through her window. Still, she pretended for argument’s sake that there was even a small possibility that it could be something else.

As she hmmed and squinted at the corners of the room, there was a soft sound at the door and she turned to look towards it. Sesshomaru—her newly made Lord husband, _Oh_! She loved the way that sounded—stood just inside the doorway, his knuckle still posed above the frame where he had given a knock to alert her to his presence. She took advantage of her new privileges as his Lady wife to go ahead and run her eyes along his face and silhouette, still posed with a thoughtful finger against her chin. He stood patiently as she perused him, and she noticed with a small jolt that he had removed his armor and swords.

“This home is beautiful,” she told him, breaking the silence and gesturing around to the room they were in. He inclined his head and walked the rest of the way into to come and stand next to her, watching her as she looked around. Rin wasn’t looking at him directly, but she had started to recognize his little tells over their courtship and she knew that he wanted to reach out and touch her but was stopping himself. So, she turned with a smile and slipped her arms around his waist, resting her face against his chest with a happy sound. There was the smallest, sliver of a moment where he seemed to hesitate before his hands gently came down to rest on her back.

Rin pressed her lips together and marveled at him. She wasn’t sure what to call it, but he had an air about him that was almost...nervous? Anxious? Charged perhaps was the best way to describe it because, to be frank, she wasn’t sure that Sesshomaru had the ability to be _nervous_ especially in the way that she was familiar with. Yet, she could feel it in his spine as her hands rested against him, she could almost taste it in the air. She had come to suspect, and she was fairly confident in her assessment, that it was because he wasn’t sure what to do with her.

He loved her, she knew that much clearly because he had told her very pointedly in one of the most romantic moments of her mortal life, and the wedding she had played a leading role in a few nights ago left no doubts in her mind on that front. However, she suspected that he was holding back. Holding back on what exactly she couldn’t be sure, but she had her theories, the chief among them being that he just wasn’t quite sure how to _be_ in love. His actions and behavior were so reminiscent of someone starting a new craft; unsure and somewhat clumsy but willing. Luckily for him, love was something she was well versed in, and she was a pretty good teacher. Once she was done with him, he would love as easily as he fought. 

“Do you like your home?” He asked her, his voice rumbling through his chest against her cheek. With a big grin, Rin squeezed him tighter and rubbed her face into him before leaning back and studying him.

“It is so, so wonderful,” she told him, meaning it from the bottom of her heart and soul. It was one of the most wonderful gifts she had ever received, in fact, and she had to resist pinching herself. He had brought her here and presented it to her with such lack of fanfare that for a moment she wondered if she was missing something. It wasn’t a large home by any stretch of the word, but it was bigger and nicer than any village hut. It was a home they could build a family in. He looked down at her, his amber eyes soft and warm, and she knew she could drown in them if he let her.

She pulled away and spread her arms to gesture to the empty room, turning to look over her shoulder at him as he watched her. “So, here’s what I’m thinking,” she dove into her explanation, describing her vision for their bedroom, gesturing to where the bed would be as well as the rest of the layout. As she spoke, his eyes followed her around the room and he turned and nodded in the appropriate places and the whole experience felt so good and real and solid. Once she had shown him every corner of the room, she placed her hands on her hips and turned to him, a little out of breath from talking so fast and moving. “What do you think?”

“Do what you see fit.” He told her and with a squeal of delight, she did just that, building their home around them.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	17. Assurance and Consequence

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_“You deserve good things, and I want to be one of them.”_

_— Ellen Hopkins, The Glass Child_

\---

Laying on her back in the forest, Rin peered solemnly up through the canopy of trees above her and watched snippets of clouds drift past slowly. The clear, perfectly blue sky was framed by the reaching fingers of the tall branches and, if she let her eyes go out of focus, it almost looked like ice with cracks along it. A couple of birds flitted past and they dipped and sang as they chased one another. Against her back, the cool ground poked into her, and the fabric of her clothing did nothing to protect her from the many small, sharp sticks that had fallen to the ground. In this shaded area, laying against the chilly forest floor, Rin almost felt cold and decided she should try to move. At even the vaguest thought of moving, her ankle pulsed painfully.

Rin bit the inside of her cheek and lifted her head up to look down at herself. Remarkably, she really wasn’t all that torn up, considering she had tripped and then, with a loud yelp/scream combo, had tumbled down a small hill in what probably looked and sounded hilarious to anyone that had been walking by. She had done her best to stop herself, her hands lashing out to grab onto any branches that she could, most of them breaking and more than a few snapping against her painfully. The resulting casualties were a few rips on the bottom of her kimono and scrapes along her face, hands, legs...really, any exposed skin. And her unfortunate ankle that had been the starting point for it all, throbbing in a way that indicated she may not be leaving her spot anytime soon.

With a put-upon sigh, she pushed her top half up, supporting her weight back on her elbows. Looking down at her foot, Rin blew a frustrated puff of air out from between her lips and then sat up the rest of the way. Bending over her bare, dirty foot, she was too preoccupied to notice when she had company. A crunch of underbrush next to her had Rin jerking her head up, making eye contact with a very familiar boot and white-pant leg. She craned her head up, following the leg up towards the face of her husband.

“Oh, hello,” she said, sheepishly, brushing her hands through her hair to get rid of any wayward sticks and leaves. _How did he find me?_ She wondered to herself, hoping that it hadn’t been her very embarrassing yelp of surprise that he had heard and followed. Blushing at the thought, she gave a little laugh tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he knelt down next to her, his one knee touching down on the ground silently. He reached out a hand and gently wrapped his long, slender fingers around her wrist, turning her arm to reveal her palm that was slowly weeping blood out of a rough scrape. 

She let out a soft _Oh_ when she saw it, realizing that she hadn’t even noticed that she was bleeding and now wondering if there were any other places that she was oozing from. He leaned closer to her hand for a moment before looking her over and, even though he would never wiggle his nose like she had seen his brother do, she knew that he was investigating to see if she had more severe injuries. He must have decided she wasn’t in any danger of bleeding out because as quickly as she noticed he was looking her over, he was done and his eyes returned to hers.

“Are you alright?” He asked, his hand still warm and firm where he held onto her wrist. She nodded, head bobbing, still feeling a bit embarrassed that he had found her like this before a twinge had her wincing. She hesitated before shaking her head and glancing down towards her ankle, which was slowly becoming puffier and puffier. He followed her gaze down as she cleared her throat.

“I, ah, think I hurt my foot,” she said, trying to inject some level of humor into her words but the pain making it fall flat, her voice tight. He made a noncommittal humming sound, as was his wont. His hand slid up her arm to her bicep and, with gentle pressure, helped her move a little further into a sitting position, her shoulder leaning into him. He reached down and gently ran his hand along her swollen ankle. Rin winced and turned her face to hide in his shoulder, bracing for pain. He was gentle, and she knew he was checking to see if anything was broken, but it still hurt and she couldn’t stop the small hiss of pain that she gasped out as he slowly moved her ankle. Pressed up against him as she was, she felt him sigh as he sat back and looked down at her.

“You’re okay,” he assured her, voice strong and sure even as hushed as he was, and she nodded, hair rustling against his sleeve. She didn’t _feel_ okay, but she supposed that she wouldn’t, seeing as she had just done somersaults down a hill. She let out a big sigh of her own, much louder and undignified than his had been, before she leaned back and met his gaze.

“Can we go home?” She asked, voice thin and reedy with the sudden exhaustion that a person who had just been hurt felt. Sesshomaru looked down at her and she saw his eyebrows frow just enough to make one small line before he leaned forward and placed one quick kiss against her forehead. Rin smiled and brushed her fingers along her face where his lips had touched, knowing he was trying to cheer her up. She opened her mouth to thank him but the words stopped in her throat as she felt his arm slip under her knees and around her back and then suddenly she was being lifted into the air. “M-my Lord!” she yelped, taken by surprise, legs kicking out and hand grabbing onto his lapel at the sudden feeling of being hefted into the air.

“Be still,” he warned her as he turned and walked through the trees back towards their home. Blushing, she did as he said and sat still, ankle throbbing from when she had kicked around. She bit her lips as he walked, glancing up at him. He was so sweet, and he probably didn’t even know it. Which only made him more adorable. To him, carrying her home was the obvious solution; she couldn’t walk, he could lift her, their home was a short walk away, an easy solution. And it really was the most obvious answer to this problem, but also he was her beautiful, steadfast hero. She could tell that he was taking extra care to not jostle her as he walked, and she kept thinking back to his soft touches after he had found her. _How lucky for me,_ she thought to herself as she leaned her head into his shoulder, settling in with a happy sigh.

She traced her finger over the red sakura patterns on his kimono in front of her face and glanced up at him. He looked forward impassively, as if carrying his wife home was something that he did all the time and that he hadn’t basically had to dig her out of the crater of her own making. He was warm and secure and he had her. He was safe and kind, and it made the pain bearable. _Not worth it_ , she thought as she flexed her toes a bit and winced, _but bearable_.

“Thank you,” Rin whispered, watching her finger trace the design. He didn’t answer her but she knew he was listening. “Thank you for coming to find me and thank you for bringing me home.” He remained silent and Rin turned to look over her shoulder, recognizing some of the landmarks around them, and saw their home. He walked over to the engawa around their house and set her down gently before once again kneeling down in front of her. This time, however, he didn’t look for injuries. He looked _at her_ , his face tilted up to hers, neck stretching forwards as he met her eyes.

“Did you think I would leave you?” He asked, and Rin was so surprised that she legitimately couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. She shook her head, deciding to assume he was being serious.

“N-no, My Lord!” She stuttered, flustered and tried to look away, but his face was too close and he followed her to keep her gaze. His hands rested on her knees and she looked over at him, noticing that he had an odd expression on his face. Rin studied it for a moment, before she smiled and brought her, no longer bleeding, hands up to cup his face. “I know you wouldn’t,” she assured him, voice just as hushed as his. “I was saying thank you to be _polite_ , Sesshomaru.” She bent forward and their foreheads met. “I love you, very much.”

He didn’t answer, instead closing the distance between the two of them to kiss her. When he pulled away, apparently satisfied that his wife knew that he would never leave her to suffer the consequences of her own actions, and began to better investigate her different scrapes and bruises. He left her for a moment and returned with a small, damp rag. Rin watched him as he once again looked at the scrape on her palm, the blood there browned by the passage of time as it dried, and she began to wonder…

“Lord Sesshomaru,” she began, her tone thoughtful. He answered her with a _hm?_ as he carefully wiped her hand with the wet rag he had retrieved. “How did you know where to find me so fast?” she asked, knowing that he had probably smelled her blood, but she hadn’t really been bleeding for that long when he had found her… not long enough for it to have carried three miles downwind, at least. Very clearly, though his face was tilted at an odd angle away from her, she saw the corners of his lips twitch.

“You fell… very loudly.”

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! And I hope everyone has been enjoying this week's SessRin content as much as I have 😍**


	18. Craving

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_ “I have so much of you in my heart.” _

_ — _ _ John Keats _

\---

Rin woke up in the middle of the night and immediately forgot her dreams. She was curled up on her side, hands resting limply next to her face, and the blankets tangled up in her legs. She blinked a few times into the darkness and sat there for a moment, feeling somehow both groggy and alert at the same time. She was sure that whatever she had been dreaming about was the reason she woke up, but they had faded away and all she had left was just the vague feeling she had forgotten something. 

With a small sigh, she rolled over onto her back and stared unseeing at the ceiling, hand coming up to rest on her stomach, the growing bump there still something that was foreign and exciting to her. It was finally getting to the point where it was noticeable and she caught herself studying the way she looked more often. When she was changing, she would stand in front of the mirror and look at herself, turning this way and that, before smiling and going about her day. While she was getting bigger for sure, it wasn’t to the point where it was becoming a hindrance. Really, the most uncomfortable part was how  _ hungry _ she would get.

As if on cue, her stomach clenched and rumbled. Rin groaned and looked up over her shoulder, checking to see if her husband was with her, and found his usual spot empty. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up and letting herself wake up a bit more before she stood and started walking. As she headed to the door, she reached over and grabbed one of the smaller blankets, wrapping it around her shoulders to keep her warm against the chilly night. She slid the door open, slipping through and leaving it cracked. Though she wasn’t being noisy, she was sure that he had heard her moving around and would show up any second now.

She shambled into the kitchen and began to shuffle through the food there, humming to herself as she looked for something that would satisfy the pangs. The more she looked, the more she noticed, with no small amount of irritation at herself, that while she  _ felt _ ravenous none of the food looked particularly good. She would pick up a jar and open it, smell the contents, and then put it back down with a wrinkled nose. After the fourth time doing this, she set the jar down with a bit more force than necessary. She put her hand on her hip and stared down at her stomach, speaking to the little one occupying it; “Well, what _ do _ you want then?”

There was a sound behind her and she turned to look over her shoulder at her husband as he approached, his expression curious, eyebrows raised as he looked her up and down. She smiled at him and waved pleasantly, turning to fully face him as he stopped next to her. He looked around at the assortment of foods set out and then back to her. Rin cleared her throat and rubbed a finger under her sleepy eyes.

“I’m hungry,” she explained, yawning and resting her hand on her stomach again. With a sullen expression, she looked up at Sesshomaru. “Nothing here looks good, though, and I’m not sure what I’m craving.” He didn’t answer her but she saw the way he looked at her, obviously tired, face before down at where her thumb was brushing against the bump that was their child. She heard him let out a very small sigh and he turned towards the door for a moment, raising his face, before looking back at her.

“Come with me.” He told her and left. Rin stifled another yawn as she gathered the blanket she had set down and followed him out. He was standing at the foot of the stairs in the moonlight, back turned to her. She walked down the stairs and came to stand next to him, he looked over at her and then turned to face her. “We are not going far,” he explained and she nodded, turning to walk in the direction she had seen him looking only to stop when his hand closed around her wrist. She looked back at him, confused.

“Are we not going now? I thought…” Rin trailed off as he came closer and then lifted her effortlessly, tucking his arm under her rear. She gasped and automatically slipped her arms around his shoulders to steady herself. He turned to look at her, their noses almost touching, and Rin blushed. She smiled wide and laid her face in the crook of his neck as she felt the odd sensation of leaving the ground.

He very rarely flew with her, and she assumed that it was because it was rare that he was going anywhere with enough urgency to require him to take flight, but he had done this with her a few times and each time was just as exciting as the last. It was  _ nothing _ like flying on A-Un, mostly because her husband was not a pack animal, but the way he flew was worlds different from the dragon. He just seemed to suddenly become weightless and move and the ride along with him was as smooth as sliding on ice. Whereas riding on A-Un was just like riding a horse, the movement of him wasn’t always the most comfortable.

True to his word, their trip was very short indeed and he touched down on a hill just as silently as when he had taken flight. She was gently deposited onto the cool grass, his hand resting against her back as she got her bearings. Rin looked around curiously, trying to figure out why he had brought her here. She followed his gaze over her shoulder to a grouping of trees at the bottom of the hill and let out a happy gasp at what she saw.

Clustered together were three peach trees, their branches heavy with fruit, and the ground around them dotted with the ones that had ripened too far and fallen. Her stomach clenched at the thought of sinking her teeth into them and she had to check for drool as she started carefully navigating her way down the easy slope, followed closely by her husband. She hustled up under the closest tree and stood on her tip-toes to reach for the closest fruit, her nails scratching pathetically against its fuzzy skin but not able to grab at it.

A pale hand reached over hers and pulled firmly, Sesshomaru handing her the fruit she had been going for before he walked past and continued to do so, gathering two peaches in each hand. Rin watched him, holding the light-pink peach up to her nose and smiling at him. After his hands were full, he came back over to her and held out what he had gotten. She took all but one of them from him, fumbling to control the circular fruits rolling in her arms, as he used his thumb’s claw to peel away the skin of the one he kept.

“Oh, you’re going to make yourself all sticky,” Rin chastised, watching the juices of the peach run over his hand and down his wrist. He ignored her, handing her the half-naked peach, which she accepted and quickly bit into. The moment the flesh hit her tongue, she made a practically indecent sound, moaning through the mouthful of food. It was  _ exactly _ what she had wanted and she chewed quickly, devouring the peach like she was a wild animal. She licked her lips when she was done, sucking the juice off of each of her fingers in turn, and letting out a loud, satisfied  _ ah! _

He handed her another one that he had peeled and she snarfed it down just as quickly, not even caring that she was now officially the stickier of the two with juice all over her face and down her chin, all over her hands and fingers. Satisfied, she grinned and approached him, the three remaining peaches still in her arms, and he watched her as she approached.

“Thank you so much,” Rin chirped happily and he nodded, eyes trailing over her face and down to her stomach where they lingered. “I’m not sure how you knew this was exactly what I needed, but it was.” She could have sworn he had a shade of a smile on his face as he bent down and kissed against her chin, following the trail of peach juice down to her neck. She let out a shaky gasp, blushing when she felt his tongue drag slowly along her skin, lapping up the sticky mess she had made of herself.

He leaned back from her slowly and his face betrayed nothing, but Rin couldn’t seem to shake the blush that stained her face, turning her as pink as the peaches she carried. He turned his head to look in the direction of their home and there was a beat of silence before he said; “This Sesshomaru has a… preference for peaches.”

Rin looked at him and then verbally went; “Huh.” before laughing happily. Sesshomaru turned to look at her again and she shook her head, juggling the peaches so she could wave her hand at him. “I just…” she grinned and shrugged, “I wonder what else you two will have in common.” Rin tucked a wayward strand of hair back behind her ear as he stared at her, eyes distant, before he approached and lifted her again. Tucked up safely against him, she heard his quiet, thoughtful murmur;

“What else, indeed.”

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	19. Reprieve

_ \--- _

_ “‘What is belonging?’ we ask. She says, ‘Where loneliness ends.’” _

_ —Rivers Solomon, The Deep _

_ \--- _

Under the canopies of a thousand trees, a small family found comfort in the silence there. Though, the silence itself was a fairly recent occurrence. Not too long ago Rin had been running and playing with the two giggling and squealing toddlers. The loud peels of laughter from the three of them had shaken the trees and disturbed every forest critter in a twenty-mile radius, but Rin had been unwilling to quiet the girls. Especially because there was no reason to, really, and who was she to keep them from enjoying their childhood? 

However, as happens with most children, the steam had run out. It had started with Setsuna, who was already the sweeter, more subdued of the two, when she had come over and crawled into Rin’s empty lap, leaning her small head against Rin’s collarbone. Rin knew that meant she would soon be sound asleep and smiled as she wrapped her arms around her youngest. She leaned her back against the trunk of a tree and watched as Towa continued to play with the small dolls Rin had made for them, the older of the two still lost in the imaginary world she had made for herself. 

Just as Rin noticed that Setsuna had fallen asleep, Towa looked up from her game, twisting her head around looking for the playmate she just realized wasn’t with her anymore. Turning towards her mother with a curious look on her face, the mystery solved itself. She jumped to her feet in that carelessly efficient way that children do and hustled over. Shyly, Towa reached forward and began to step into her lap without really waiting for an invitation. With a grin, Rin opened her arm up and let Towa settle herself down onto her other thigh, and soon her oldest daughter was just as asleep as her twin.

That had been a little while ago and Rin was officially becoming  _ very _ uncomfortable. Her feet were numb and tingly, and her knees hurt from the weight of the two girls but she couldn’t bring herself to move them. Every twinge of her leg had her glancing down at them and their angelic, sleeping little faces would look back at her and she would just deflate back against the tree with a grimace. There was very little chance that she would be able to move one or both of them without them waking up and that would result in some very sulky, whiny hanyous that would be unbearably crabby. Not even Jaken could save her, seeing as the twins were getting to be almost as tall as he was, and so Rin learned what motherly sacrifice truly meant.

Just as she was losing herself in her self-sacrifice and wondering how much longer she needed to endure it before she wouldn’t be risking a complete twin meltdown, Jaken stood up and quietly said a greeting towards the forest. Rin turned towards the same direction and saw her esteemed husband emerging from between the trees. He walked into their small clearing, eyes sweeping around at Jaken and Rin, flicking between the two girls that were sound asleep, and fell back to his wife as she smiled at him, mouthing  _ welcome back _ to him.

“Jaken,” his smooth voice carried through the air, not whispering but somehow not disturbing the peace either. Jaken jumped to attention, staff gripped tightly in his little hands. “Go find food.” Was his simple order, and Jaken quickly ran off to do so. Rin watched him hustle off before turning her mischievous look onto her husband.

“You got rid of him very quickly,” she commented, tone implying that she knew he was up to something. Sesshomaru did not answer, but she thought she saw a small quirk of his lips as he came to where his family was huddled, kneeling down in front of her slowly. With a relieved wince, Rin lifted one of her hands from where it was keeping Setsuna from sliding off of her and pointed to their daughter. “Would you take her, please?”

Without a moment of hesitation, he slipped his hands in and scooped her up, moving so smoothly that she didn’t even stir. With a sigh of relief, Rin stretched her leg out, at the same time gently moving Towa around so that her weight wasn’t directly cutting off any more circulation. She leaned Towa’s chest against hers, the small head lying against her shoulder, and the chubby little legs on either side of Rin’s hips. Rin secured her hands around Towa’s lower back to make sure she wasn’t going to slide off and wiggled her numb toes as blood rushed back into her extremities.

“Thank you so much, my Lord,” she whispered, tipping her head back and looking over at him where he had sat next to her. A glance showed that he had laid Setsuna safely in his pelt, her dark hair stark against his white fur, and she was very happily sleeping away, a small hand gripping onto his kimono. Rin couldn’t stop the relaxed smile that spread across her face as she watched him look down at his daughter and wished for all the world that this would last forever. 

After a moment, he turned to her, and the two locked eyes. In this moment of peace and quiet, all of the worries that had been plaguing the couple for three years seemed to melt away. The serenity of the moment made the outside threats from those who would see their happiness squashed feel insignificant and impossible. Here it was the trees and the leaves and the worms and this family. And it was enough. It was good.

Rin tipped over and rested her forehead against Sesshomaru’s shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing him in. He was just as secure and sturdy as the trunk behind her and not for the first time, Rin was overcome with a relief that the two of them were in this together. She inhaled deeply and lifted her head, looking up at him, studying his beautiful, familiar face.

“Let’s just stay here forever,” she whispered, voice full of melancholy longing. He cocked his head to the side a millimeter and she swallowed hard, bringing up a hand to gently brush her fingertips along his jawline. “Stay with  _ me _ ,” she pleaded, thumb resting over his lips, almost like she was subconsciously trying to keep him from reminding her that they couldn’t do that. That staying hidden kept them safe, but only for a moment. It didn’t keep their daughters safe forever. It didn’t help Inuyasha and Kagome and  _ their  _ daughter that Rin had never met.

Sesshomaru reached up with the hand that wasn’t supporting their sleeping toddler and gently grabbed onto her wrist, holding her loosely. They stayed there like that, Rin’s sad wish left suspended in the air and his denial of it silently present. She sighed and he pulled away at exactly the same time as she dropped her hand, resting it on his shoulder and sliding it down the length of his arm until she ran out of arm to touch. In her lap, Towa snuffled and wiggled around, rubbing her nose against Rin’s shoulder until she settled in again. With a slow nod, Rin smiled and began to fill the air with idle chatter. While she spoke about everything and nothing in particular, she leaned against him and hoped that he found as much strength from these small breaks as she did.

These small moments of solace would have to be enough. She would make their life good.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this story! Again, "canon compliant" is a little wiggly here, but I'm going to hold onto my hope that Rin was with the girls until Sunrise won't let me believe it** **anymore!**


	20. Midsummer

\---

_ “Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up.” _

_ — Louise Erdrich, The Painted Drum _

\---

Rin had a very clear memory of Kagome telling her that “opposites attract”. She still could not figure out exactly why this particular memory was so clear, so completely seared into her brain, that she remembered it like she was sitting there even all these years later. She also very clearly remembered how confused that had made her because Kagome and Inuyasha were, really, very similar, especially in the way that they got worked up about things. She  _ also  _ didn’t understand the sentiment behind the saying because, well, why would opposite types of people like each other? If you have nothing in common with a person why would you want to spend more time with them than you had to? But she had been young and she hadn’t really understood what exactly love even really was so she decided to keep it in her arsenal.

Laying in the forest on a haphazard blanket made from their clothing, Rin held her husband and revisited this memory. She hummed absentmindedly as she ran her fingers through his long, silver hair, staring up at the blue sky through the trees. It was humid out, as it was most of the days this time of the year, and the two of them were sweaty. Their bare skin stuck to each other where they touched and, while it was uncomfortable, Rin wouldn’t release her hold on him for all the money in the world.

She wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but she had to assume he was just as stubbornly uncomfortable as she was. He had his cheek resting against her shoulder, his slow breaths gently ghosting across her chest, draping the majority of himself over her. He so rarely was this relaxed with her when they were away from the guaranteed privacy of their home. Especially recently, though he wouldn’t tell her why. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her, leg tossed between hers, holding her close as if she was in danger of being snatched from him at any moment was too precious for her to give up. 

Even if she did have sweat literally dripping off of her.

“You’re warm.” Rin winced as he spoke, knowing that if it was bad enough for him to comment on it, then he was going to move away from her.

“No, I’m not.” She quickly lied, holding him closer to her with the hand that wasn’t knuckles deep in his hair. Against her, he inhaled deeply and she felt his grip on her tighten a fraction as well, before he sat up on his elbow, their sticky skin separating almost painfully, and looked down into her red, sweaty face. Long strands of his hair slid over his shoulder and stuck to her arm.

“Rin…”

“Okay, so, maybe I’m a  _ little _ warm,” she conceded, talking quick, hands still resting against him. She was resisting the urge to pull him back down physically. Not that she would win that battle of strength, but she would give it her best shot. “But consider that maybe I would be okay with being warm if that means I get to be with you.” She gave him a big, cheesy grin, batting her eyelashes sweetly. 

He remained an unpersuadable wall, but she did see the way his face softened and he leaned down to brush his lips across hers. Rin closed her eyes, savoring the moment, before he pulled away and left her, her hands sliding off of him limply. She laid there after he was gone from her arms, sighing loudly to let him know via audible cues how dismayed she was with his decision to make sure she was comfortable and happy. She rolled off his clothes but continued to pout on the ground as he collected his swords from where they were laying and walked a few steps away.

She continued to stare at the canopy, letting the very light breeze blow across her naked skin and cool her down a bit, returning back to the memory.  _ Are we really opposites? _ She wondered to herself, pushing her torso up to recline back on her elbows. She watched him thoughtfully as he got dressed, cocking her head to the side. She went through a mental checklist of opposites;  _ quiet (check), serious (check), seems to prefer solitude (check), demon (check), _ and decided that perhaps there was something to what Kagome had said. But, then again, they had so many things in common, too. They both were kind and warm (though, apparently, no one saw that one except for her), they were both brave and determined, they both loved the other with all their hearts.

“Lord Sesshomaru,” Rin began, voice distant as she meandered her way through her thoughts. He glanced over at her as he put the finishing touches on his clothes, sliding his swords into their place at his waist. Still piecing her words together, she sat up and crossed her legs, reaching over to snag her kimono, laying it in her lap. “Why do you love me?”

He stared at her silently. She noticed he seemed a bit taken aback by the question and, recognizing the cues that meant he was embarrassed, she mouthed along with him as he turned away from her and said, “A foolish question.”

“Maybe,” she hedged, standing up and slipping into her first layer of clothing slowly, flipping her hair out of her collar. “Do you think it’s because of our differences or because of our similarities?” She continued as if he hadn’t just, in his own way, expressed how he didn’t want to continue the conversation. He continued to stare off into the distance and Rin kept talking. “Because  _ I _ think it’s our similarities. We do have so much in common, after all, and you can’t build a house with a bunch of different materials.” She frowned, not sure if her analogy fit here.

She saw him sigh.

With a grin, she pulled on her kimono and busied herself securing it in place as she talked to fill the silence. “Kagome once mentioned how she’d heard that opposites attract but I just don’t see it.” There was a beat of silence as she finished tying up her obi and then walked up to him, gently nudging his arm to the side so she could hug him. Resting her face against his chest, she breathed him in. “In case you were wondering,” she continued, tipping her head up and resting her chin against his sternum. He looked down at her smiling face. “I love everything about you. Differences and all.”

They fell into their own small world, just the two of them, in the wake of her confession. His clawed hand came up and he stroked his knuckles down her cheek slowly, thoughtfully, before he lowered it again and looked off into the forest behind her. Quietly, so, so quietly that she almost couldn’t hear him, he said; “It is because of precisely that.” And at his barely audible words, she grinned a smile so big that even the Sun would have been blinded. She would never understand why getting any sentimental words out of him was like pulling teeth, but she would take what she got. He looked back down at her again and, voice back to its normal commanding tone, told her; “Jaken is coming.”

With a sad grumble, Rin pulled away and did a final check to make sure she had everything in place. Not that Jaken didn’t  _ know _ what the two were doing when he was sent away, but she liked to keep the illusion. She liked that she got to see him and have him all to herself in a way that no one else did. Perhaps, she wondered to herself as she waved to Jaken as he nervously shuffled his way into the clearing, that was one more thing they had in common.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**


	21. Haunted House

\---

_ “The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it — basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.” _

_ — Charles Bukowski _

\---

Rin took a deep, steadying breath and poked her head out of her bedroom door. 

In the darkness, she looked up and down the short hall, squinting to see if anything was hiding in the shadows. Slowly, she pushed the door further open and stretched a delicate foot out, tip-toeing her way on light steps towards where she was sure that she had left her favorite blanket. She moved carefully, walking so that every footstep was almost soundless. Nervously, she felt that kind of prickling sensation that a person would feel when walking in the dark. That feeling that your brain is trying to convince you that you’re not alone, that there’s something hiding in the darkness to get you. To follow you, chase you, eat you.

Walking a little faster, Rin shivered and mentally cursed Kagome, the friend she would die for who had done this to her. She had come to visit with husband in tow, and the two of them had enjoyed the nice day chatting and enjoying each other’s company after so much time apart. Well, it wasn’t  _ that _ much time apart, but when you go from seeing someone everyday to seeing them once or twice every few weeks that sudden drop made a difference. So, they had spent a lot of time together, even into the night, Rin building a small fire to keep them from being totally swallowed by the darkness.

The three of them, sitting around the small fire, enjoying the pleasant crackling warmth that it offered, had enjoyed the silence for a moment. Then, Kagome sighed and snicked, leaning over to bump her shoulder into Inuyasha’s where he sat beside her. Rin perked up, smiling in return at the mischievous sound that was coming out of the older woman. “You know,” Kagome said, voice low and ominous, grin stretching her face, “This is such a perfect opportunity to tell scary stories.” Rin tilted her head curiously, frowning and glancing over at Inuyasha who sighed and rolled his eyes to the heavens in the move of a guy who had heard this more than once.

“Scary...stories?” Rin probed, looking back and forth between the two of them. Inuyasha shook his head, exasperated, and Kagome nodded enthusiastically, pushing herself up onto her knees to lean forward towards the younger woman.

“Yes!” She gestured around like she was trying to pluck one out of the air. “You know, like  _ The Spirit of Okiku _ or  _ Tomino’s Hell _ !”

“T-Tomino’s hell…?” Rin blinked, squinting at her friend who seemed positively delighted to have found someone new to tell these stories to. Kagome had once again gestured grandly, this time like she was inviting her to a show.

“Ohh, sweet Rin,” she started, tenting her fingers together and changing the tone of her voice to something a little more theatrical and ominous. “Take a seat and listen well as I tell you the story of Hanako-san…” 

At the time, as she had laughed her way through the story with Inuyasha, she had thought it was silly. Compared to the things she had seen in her life the idea of a girl who lived in a bathroom was absolutely not the most horrific thing she had ever heard in her life. She knew the stories for what they were; just silly stories to scare kids and be good fun for adults. As she had said goodbye, waving at the retreating figures of her friends and still chuckling to herself, she had thought that it was silly. Then she had gone to bed.

It had happened somewhat gradually, the feeling of fear sneaking up on her. In the darkness of her bedroom as she slid into her bed the thought had wormed its way in. She had laughed at herself and shook her head, pulling the covers up to her nose and closing her eyes. But, the house was creaking and dark and she was alone. So, her eyes had cracked open, looking nervously at the darkest corners of her room, and she had tossed and turned all night. Until, in a last ditch effort to remind herself that there was nothing to be scared of, she went to go pick up the blanket she had accidentally left outside.

_ This is ridiculous _ , she grumbled to herself even as she jumped when the wind picked up outside and had a loose board somewhere rattling. Rin wished, not for the first time, that her husband was home. She found it quite literally impossible to be afraid when he was around, and if he had been here then she wouldn’t be creeping through the halls of her own home out of fear of a  _ bathroom ghost _ . Reaching her hand out, she opened her door to the outside, lunging through the doorway and snapping it shut again as if that would stop the imaginary ghost that was nipping on her heels.

With a shaky breath, she leaned back against the doorway and closed her eyes. Her head tipped back and hit the wood with a thud.  _ Get the blanket, get back inside, go to bed, _ she ticked off her list in her mind, nodding with finality and pushing herself up to walk over and pick up what she came for. Looking up at the half-moon, she flicked the grass off of it with a snap and peered around hoping to see a distinctive silhouette. When she saw the sky was clear, she wilted and turned back towards the door.

Rin raised her chin and grit her teeth, reaching out to open the door. Standing there, she stared back down the dark hallway that seemed almost bigger in it’s imposing darkness. With a very brave step, she walked in and then promptly sprinted all the way back to her bedroom, diving into the door and under the blankets. She poked her eyes out and saw that she was not followed by any type of ghost. Rin pushed her head the rest of the way out with a sigh, laughing at herself and feeling very silly, happy that no one was around to see her behaving in such a childish way.

“Rin.”

She screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping so hard that she fell over and tried to scramble to her feet only to find that she had tangled herself in her own blankets. She thrashed herself free and looked over at the door only to see her Lord husband standing in the doorway with, dare she say, bewildered expression on his face. Heart pounding in her chest, she let out a relieved noise and hauled herself to her feet and hurried over to him, reaching behind him to shut the door.

“I’m so,  _ so _ , happy that you’re home,” she told him as she pulled him over to the safety of the bed. He followed her, the hand that she wasn’t holding onto working to untie his weapons.

“You’re still awake.” He told her, the question there, the unspoken  _ and you’re upset about something _ hanging in the air between them. She laughed nervously and sat down, patting the bedding to invite him down, which he did in his smooth, graceful way.

“I was having a hard time getting to sleep,” she whispered, immediately shuffling over to press herself against his warm body the moment he removed his armor. She lifted his arm up and tucked herself there, hugging around his torso and feeling the tension in her muscles fade away like ink into water. He rested his arm against her and she breathed him in greedily, listening to his heart, feeling the way his chest rose and fell. “Kagome and Inuyasha came by today,” she whispered, the exhaustion that had been fighting against her adrenaline already starting to overtake her. He grunted noncommittally, his long fingers brushing against her spine gently. “She told me about a toilet ghost…”

His hand paused for a moment, the shock in him evident in that one small movement, before he continued again. Rin smiled, realizing how silly that must sound but finally too tired to explain herself. She murmured a brief summary of the night, her words stumbling over themselves as she drifted further and further to sleep, until she finally was limp in his arms, drooling on his chest and safe in his arms.

* * *

**Hello! Sorry for the long absence! Work/life was a little overwhelming which meant that the things I do for fun had to take a backseat while things got figured out. I hope to be able to go back to weekly updates like normal!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	22. Little Spoon

\---

_ “I thought I’d die / from being loved like that.” _

_ — Marie Howe, from  The Kingdom of Ordinary Time ; “ Annunciation, ” _

\---

“This, uh, isn’t working out as well as I had hoped it would,” Rin decided sadly, pulling long silver strands of hair out of her mouth as politely as she could. Sitting up with a huff, she propped herself on her outstretched arm and looked down at him lying on his side patiently. She moved around and he turned his head to look at her, twisting his top half up towards her, eyes calmly brushing over her face as she frowned and puzzled her way through the issue. “You’re just…” she hesitated for a moment, tipping her head back and forth as she tried to see if there was a way to pull this off and sagging back onto her heels when she couldn’t see one. “You’re just too big.”

Sesshomaru pushed himself up into a sitting position, delicately slipping his fingers into his hair and tossing it over his shoulder. Rin pouted, looking up at him with miserable brown eyes. He leaned forward towards her, picking her up and sitting her in between his legs with a long sigh. She flopped over dramatically, laying her cheek against his chest as he brushed his knuckles down her spine, comforting her in this, her most devastating time. Rin silently lamented as he held her, turning her feet in and rubbing them together for lack of better things to do. 

She had been  _ trying _ to be the one holding onto him and keep him warm, even if it had started as a joke that had taken on a life of its own. After leaving their bed to grab something, she had come back and seen him laying there, broad back facing her. She had slipped in and hugged him, giggling away, and after a second decided that this position wasn’t so bad in the least. With a level of seriousness that only she could achieve at the most inconsequential of tasks, she had set about trying to wrap him up as securely and as cozy as he did for her while he laid there with the long-suffering patience of someone very used to these kinds of things. She had, obviously, failed. He just was much taller and broader than her and she couldn’t get a good hold on him in a way that was comfortable for both of them.

“Curse your beautiful body,” she intoned, lips twitching as she tried to remain playfully serious. He didn’t answer her but she felt him shift around and a low puff of air left him as he softly chuckled at her.

“Is this really that important to you?” He asked, voice low and vibrating in his chest against her head. She shrugged, a little embarrassed that she was as disappointed as she was.

“You’re just…” she hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain herself. Rin leaned back and looked up at him, noticing that he was already gazing down at her in his steady way. “You do so much—always—and I just wanted to get a chance to,” she waved her hand around as she tried to come up with what she wanted to say, “Repay the favor? Show you what it felt like, too?” He tipped his head to the side, his lips quirking a bit.

She reached her hand up, fingertips brushing along his cheek, over the stripes on his face, down to his chin. Cupping his face, she let her thumb run over his lips, feeling his warm breath ghost against her finger. He looked down at her, eyes hooded as she stroked against his skin, and Rin couldn’t help but wonder if she was dreaming this whole thing. It felt so surreal, these moments that they shared together in the silence of their bedroom. How she would get to see parts of him that no one else ever would.

Stretching her neck out, she met him in a slow kiss. Her lips pressed into his, coaxing him to life as she moved against him. She grinned into his mouth as he reciprocated, dipping his head down to push their mouths together with a little more insistence than her lazy teasing was offering. Her fingers continued their soft brushing, sliding up the sides of his face and into his hair, rubbing against his scalp in the way she knew he liked. After a moment, he pulled away from her and she made a sad sound but didn’t chase after him.

His eyes studied hers for a moment before he moved away from her, repositioning the two of them. Rin, befuddled as she was, played along politely as he walked around to her front. “Cross your legs,” he told her and she did quickly. He nodded and then sat down, turning his back to her before leaning back and resting his head on her thighs.

Her mouth dropped open in delight for the barest of moments before her lips curled up into a beaming smile. He shifted around a bit, positioning himself into the familiar position he would relax into, even if it was a little more reclined than it normally was. His leg propped up, hand resting against his stomach, hair fanned out next to them, and as Rin looked down at him she felt very distinctly that she was looking at a feast laid out before her.

“Well, now, this is definitely not so bad,” she teased, immediately lifting some of his hair up to play with it. He made a low humming sound of acknowledgement, his eyes sliding shut as she braided his hair with a grin. She worked slowly, savoring the peace, and letting herself watch him as he relaxed. Leaning over, unable to stop herself, she placed a gentle, lingering kiss against the moon on his forehead before resting her own against his. “Thank you, Sesshomaru.”

She sat back up and chatted about nothing until their room was so warm with the rising sun that they couldn’t stay hidden away any longer and left to meet the day, together.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The First Last Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29819052) by [unlockthelore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unlockthelore/pseuds/unlockthelore)




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